‘The management of Bank VTB decided to lay off about 10% of actual employees and cut down on vacancies in both the head office and the subsidiaries. The decision regarding the redundancies was made within the framework of the bank’s expense-cutting program adopted by the Board in November 2008. Under this program, a ban on taking in any more staff has already been introduced,’ the bank’s Yekaterinburg subsidiary reported.

‘The redundancies will be made in strict accordance with the Russian labor laws. The laid-off workers will receive all the legally guaranteed payments and compensations and offered available vacancies in Bank VTB and its daughter enterprises as well as helped in finding a new job if necessary,’ the bank announced.

Bank VTB says the redundancies are primarily targeted at bringing the number of employees in compliance with the recent changes the bank has undergone recently.

‘The economic recession made it necessary to work more effectively, so some of our processes were improved thanks to the new operational and business methods and launch of new information technologies,’ the bank representative added.