Banks to make 3,000 employees redundant this year

As many as 3,000 Polish banking workers are expected to lose their jobs this year, largely as a result of restructuring plans announced by some of the country's leading banks. Among those that are trimming their workforces this year are Bank Zachodni WBK, which is to lay off 500 staff, Bank Przemyslowo - Handlowy (BPH), which will make 1,200 workers redundant, and Bank Handlowy, where 865 people will lose their jobs. In addition, Powszechny Bank Kredytowy (PBK) has announced plans to shed 1,000 jobs by next February. According to Dariusz Kiziakiewicz, president of the Solidarity banking union, the staff cuts are part of restructuring plans introduced after the banks were taken over by foreign investors. Kiziakiewicz estimates that over the next 20 years, as many as 40,000 of the country's banking workers may lose their jobs. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 7) P.W.