Budapest Bank

1,130 jobs
Number of planned job creations

Announcement Date

29 June 2006

Employment effect (start)

1 July 2006

Foreseen end date

31 December 2008

Description

Budapest Bank, the Hungarian arm of General Electric Money Bank, inaugurated its new Operations Centre in Békéscsaba, south-east Hungary, on 21 June 2006. The HUF 1 billion ($4.5 million) investment is expected to create around 130 jobs by the end of 2006, totalling 530 new jobs by the end of 2008. The centre currently has 30 employees, while another 30 people are undergoing training. The centre will handle telephone enquiries regarding new accounts, tele-banking and outstanding debts for the bank's clients nationwide. The establishment of the Centre forms part of Budapest Bank's expansion strategy, in the framework of which 25 new branch offices were opened throughout the country in 2005. For 2006 an increase in the sales network was planned as well and the creation of 300 jobs was anticipated countrywide. The expansion necessitated the development of support divisions, which were carried out from the Bank's central office in Budapest.

The bank later announced that it would hire 600-700 former public service employees who are being dismissed in the framework of the wide-ranging project of the re-elected MSZP-SZDSZ (Hungarian Socialist Party - Alliance of Free Democrats) coalition government to streamline the entire public administration system, which forms part of the efforts of the Government to reduce state expenditures and to restore the budgetary balance (‘austerity package’). All ministries have been affected by the reorganisation, as a result of which one third of the 7,300-7,500 strong workforce of ministries and related institutions are expected to be laid off in the next two years (in average 200-220 employees per ministry).

Sources

• 25 August 2006: Budapest Business Journal
• 29 June 2006: Budapest Sun