The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Financial Services Union (BFSU) has been in talks with CIBC First Caribbean International Bank Bahamas (FCIB) over “ways and means” to potentially avoid forced redundancies, its head confirmed to this newspaper yesterday.

    CIBC First Caribbean, has announced plans to restructure its operations in the Bahamas and the region, a move which could bring redundancies over the next 18 months.

“They’re talking to the unions now. We’re meeting on it” said Theresa Mortimer, president of the Bahamas Financial Services Union (BFSU).

“We have had our first meeting and there is a second meeting pending. There is some stuff that we’re talking about, ways and means in which we could do things a little better than redundancies, potentially avoiding redundancies.

“Once we’re finished our discussions I guess we would be in a position to make a general statement on the matter.” 

The bank’s regional chief executive, in a letter to staff several weeks ago, hinted that the bulk of any lay-offs - voluntary or otherwise - was likely to come from middle management, which he said consisted of “too many layers”.

Rik Parkhill also said CIBC FirstCaribbean was set to “consolidate its operations”, indicating that it was likely to centralise certain back office operations.

In the letter seen by Tribune Business, Mr Parkhill informed workers that in order to deal with challenges stemming from the global recession, CIBC FirstCaribbean had undertaken an 18-24 month initiative to improve its overall efficiency “by simplifying its organisational structure and consolidating operations.

“Part of this initiative is a reduction in our workforce. We will start by offering a voluntary early retirement programme for eligible employees, and a voluntary separation programme for those employees who may wish to leave the company, but are not eligible for early retirement,” Mr Parkhill said.

“This decision to restructure is clearly not one that we have taken lightly, but one that must be taken to enhance the competitiveness and ability of CIBC FirstCaribbean to service its customers better and more efficiently, and ultimately to grow. We intend to consult with governments, regulators and our union partners before executing this programme.”

Hinting that middle management positions may be slashed, Mr Parkhill said: “Over the years too many layers of management have been put in place. These layers elevate costs and impede timely decision making and our responsiveness to our customers.”

He added that the recession had a negative impact on CIBC FirstCaribbean’s profitability due to increased loan losses and fewer revenue-generating opportunities. Operating costs have also increased.