SBI plans 2nd round of VRS to axe 40% staffers

India's largest commercial bank State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to launch its second voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) which would eve...

India’s largest commercial bank State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to launch its second voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) which would eventually see 40 per cent of its over 2 lakh employees leaving.

This follows the bank’s plan to go in for an aggressive information technology (IT) initiative comprising seven major projects involving an investment of Rs 500 crore over the next 40 months covering all outlets. SBI managing director Y. Radhakrishnan said that the seven major projects which form part of its IT initiative are: Internet-banking, ATMs, networking of 1,500 branches all over the country, asset-liability management, treasury management, core-banking solutions and trade finance.

“The paradigm of SBI will change. As I see it, when the whole thing is implemented, there will be redundancies. There will also be a total redeployment and retraining of staff and redundancies to the extent off 35-40 per cent of the existing staff. There has to be a second VRS,” he added.

Story continues below this ad

“The efficiency of the bank will improve by 15-20 per cent after all the projects are implemented. We handle about 40 per cent of the Indian economy and thus, it will be a great boost to the Indian economy. All I can say is ‘the giant is on the move’,” he said.

It may be recalled that SBI’s first VRS in 2000-2001 saw nearly 25,000 staffers leaving the bank. The second VRS announcement by SBI mirrors a similar move by Bank of India, which wants to reduce staff by another 2,000. In the first round of VRS offering by state-run banks, nearly a lakh had opted to go home with a fat cheque.

As GST 2.0 kicks in: what changes for consumers and industry

Explained2 hr ago

The government has introduced significant changes to the GST structure, aiming to lower tax rates for various goods and services. This includes exemptions for Indian bread and health insurance, reduced taxes for beauty and well-being services, and addressing the inverted duty structure. The changes, effective immediately, are expected to boost household spending and encourage investments.

View all shorts

Live Blog