RHB to downsize 1,812 staff, pay out RM309mil

RHB said the CTS, which is voluntary in nature, was introduced as part of its rationalisation exercise.

KUALA LUMPUR: The RHB Banking Group will trim its workforce by 1,812 and will have to fork out an estimated RM309mil under the voluntary separation scheme.

The country’s fourth largest financial services group said in a statement that it had approved the applications of 1,812 employees under the Career Transition Scheme (CTS), which was completed on Sept 30. This represents 13.1% of its permanent workforce in Malaysia.

“The group expects to achieve an annual personnel costs rationalisation of approximately RM193mil,” it added.

RHB said the number of applications received was much bigger, but the group was only able to accept the applications of 1,812 employees in view of the group’s business requirements.

“Employees whose applications have been approved will be released in batches between November this year and January 2016,” it said.

The CTS was only open to its permanent workforce in Malaysia totalling 13,787. The group has a total workforce of 15,348, of which the downsized employees made up 11.8%.

RHB said the CTS, which is voluntary in nature, was introduced as part of its rationalisation exercise.

“The rapid changes to the business environment has made it necessary for the group to embark on our transformation journey to implement our business strategies in order to ensure that the group remains relevant, competitive and resilient,” RHB Banking Group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said.

“These strategies have inevitably had implications on our current level of human capital relative to our business requirements.”

RHB had said previously it had no definitive target on the number of staff to be released under the CTS, adding that its main focus was “to strengthen our fundamentals, improve our productivity and optimise our manpower in order to remain relevant, competitive and resilient.”

Several banks have announced job cuts this year, including CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (a RM443.3mil mutual separation scheme involving 3,599 employees, or 1.1% of its workforce in Malaysia and Indonesia) and most recently, Hong Leong Financial Group’s conventional and Islamic banking arms.