Financial merger looks set to double redundancies, say unions

A merger of several banks and building societies under the umbrella company of SIP Mare Nostrum, could end up meaning twice the number of people losing their jobs than had been originally forecast, the General Workers Union (UGT) claimed yesterday.

The organisations involved in the merger are CajaGranda, Sa Nostra, Caja Murcia and Caixa Penedès.
Pedro Roig, UGT Financial Services Secretary, explained that there had been plans for early retirement for 150 employees and another 90 to be relocated to Mare Nostrum offices.

But he added that this figure could rise to 500 because the merger set up by Caja Madrid and Bancaja has so far affected 4'000 employees rather than the 3'600 which had been announced by both building societies at the start of the merger process.

As a first step, it is believed that Mare Nostrum is planning a programme of voluntary early retirement which will embrace a total of 1'049 workers over 55 years of age.