In June, it emerged that CGD was readying the unprecedented plan, after the early-retirement programme proved insufficient to meet the targets negotiated with the European Commission.
Employees who are in the pension scheme for civil servants, the Caixa Geral de Aposentações, are able to sign up for compensation equivalent to 2.1 months’ pay for each year worked, while those who are only covered by social security because they were hired more recently or work for other group companies can get 1.6 months per year of service. In both cases the maximum to be paid is the equivalent of five years’ salary.
Those taking advantage of the programme can also retain some advantages such as cheap mortgages and healthcare, but only if they accept less compensation.
Anyone who expresses an interest in the scheme will be contacted by the human resources department, and will only have to make a final decision after being told how much compensation they would be eligible for. The bank will also assess each applicant individually.
According to the president of the CGD workers’ union, João Lopes, the bank may also contact employees that do not express an intention to take redundancy, to invite them to consider it.
To secure European Commission approval of a capital injection by the Portuguese state, CGD drew up a restructuring programme that foresees a reduction of its workforce by 2,000 between now and 2020.
At the end of 2016, the group had 8,133 employees in Portugal.