• Eligible to participate are those who have completed 25 years of service or are over 55 years old 
• Provision of incentives for those over 60 years old, they will benefit from an additional 10% increase. 
• Digitalization accelerates with the recruitment of specialized staff Written by: Lefkos Christou

Bank of Cyprus, within the framework of the practice it has been implementing over the last few years to reduce its labor costs, announced a new voluntary exit plan, which may also have a partially "targeted" character. 

The Management of the Bank, in its circular to all Group staff, which was posted on the employees' portal, announced its decision to release another limited-scope exit plan, which will target the departure of a small number of employees, up to 40 people. 

According to the circular, staff members who have completed 25+ years of service in the Group or are over 55 years old can participate in the plan. 

Employees who have completed their 60th year of age and join the plan will benefit from an additional 10% increase in the compensation amount, continued participation in the health fund and the life insurance plan until the normal retirement date. 

For compensation amounts exceeding €200 thousand, they will be subject to a 20% tax, as provided for by the tax reform passed at the beginning of the year. 

A contribution to the General Healthcare System (Gesy) of 2.65% will be applied to the total compensation amounts. 

It is noted that since 2019, the number of Bank of Cyprus staff has been reduced by 1,300 people. 

This number corresponded, based on 2019 data, to approximately one-third of the total staff. 

The 1,300 people came from large voluntary exit schemes. 

Since then, the practice implemented by Panicos Nicolaou, CEO of BOCH, is to provide exit plans with a limited number of participants, provided that these will contribute not only to reducing labor costs but also to enriching the Bank's workforce with new blood, fresh ideas and, in particular, with specialized personnel. 

Strict international standards dictate internal controls and specialized knowledge. 

Additionally, recent years have dictated the need for increased quality of customer service and the offering of customized solutions to specific customer groups, such as Wealth Management and shipping finance. 

Panicos Nicolaou often cites the need to restructure staff quality based on the demands created today by challenges in the financial sector.

The banking sector has been in a process of digitalization in recent years, for a faster, smarter, and more secure banking model. 

This process involves the integration of advanced technologies for customer service and automated control of banking operations.

Source: Brief