The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Financial Services Financial And Insurance Activities Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding 64 - Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding
2,400 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
30 November 2006
Employment effect (start)
30 December 2006
Foreseen end date
1 September 2009
Description
Banca Intesa is the largest banking group in Italy and one of the largest in Europe, serving approximately 13.8 million customers through a network of around 4,400 branches in Italy and abroad. It has 42,062 employees in Italy and 18,716 employees abroad.
At the end of November 2006, the Board of directors and the extraordinary shareholders' meetings of Banca Intesa and San Paolo-Imi banking group - one of the leading Italian financial group - approved the merger of San Paolo and Banca Intesa. The new banking group will be the market leader in Italy with an average market share of approximately 20% in all banking business areas and a network of approximately 5,500 branches.
The merger envisages complex reorganisation processes for both institutes. The reorganisation plans - which have not been made official yet - also regard the loss of several jobs in the two banking groups.
On 30 November, the Banca Intesa and the San Paolo-Imi banking group reached an agreement with the trade unions in order to improve efficiency in connection with the merger between the two credit institutes. The agreement envisages the loss of 5,200 jobs: 2,400 in Banca Intesa and 2,800 in Sanpaolo Imi group.
With regard to the Banca Intesa, in order to promote early retirement on a voluntary basis, the agreement regards that workers who meet all the requirements to qualify for a pension within 60 months will be eligible for benefiting of the "solidarity fund". This fund was created in 1998 by the social partners and has introduced a sort of special Wages Guarantee Fund in the banking sector.
At the end of June 2007, 4,200 is the number of employees of the two credit institutes who accepted to retire earlier on a voluntary basis, benefiting of the “solidarity fund”. So, it was needed 1,000 job-cuts in order to complete the reorganisation plan announced in November 2006.
At the end of July 2007, the management of the new credit institute and the trade unions reached an agreement on the continuation of the reorganisation plan that will concern the two-year period 2007-2009. The agreement provides the loss of 2,300 jobs: 1,000 job-cuts exclusively regards the Banca Intesa personnel in order to complete the previous reorganisation plan of the bank, while 1,300 job-cuts will concern the new credit institute derived by the merger of Banca Intesa and Banca San Paolo.
With regards to Banca Intesa, at the end of the reorganisation plan (2009) the total number of jobs lost since November 2006 should be around 4,000. All the redundant workers of Banca Intesa will benefit of the 'solidarity fund'. Moreover, the agreement reached by the bank and the trade unions provides that the company will recruit one worker with apprenticeship contract for each two workers who will be dismissed.
Sources
3 August 2007: La Stampa
3 August 2007: Il corriere della sera
15 November 2006: Il Sole 24 Ore
1 December 2006: Il Sole 24 Ore
Citation
Eurofound (2006), Banca Intesa, Merger/Acquisition in Italy, factsheet number 64539, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/64539.
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