Kookmin Bank plans 10% cut in workforce

Kookmin Bank plans 10% cut in workforce

SEOUL: South Korea's largest lender Kookmin Bank plans to reduce its 28,000-strong workforce by up to 10 percent in restructuring, bank officials said on Sunday.

Talks were under way on the proposed lay-off of up to 2,800 employees, Kookmin Bank officials said.

"Management and labor are discussing lay-off as banking analysts have recommended Kookmin Bank to cut its manpower by 10 percent to be reborn as an efficient bank," spokesman Lee Ok-won said. "So, up to 2,800 staff are subject to the proposed lay- offs."

Kookmin has some 28,000 employees -- 18,000 working full-time and 10,000 working on temporary contracts, according to Lee.

But the bank official rejected a news report that 4,800 Kookmin Bank employees would be laid off. "It is simply exaggerated," he said.

Kookmin, which became the country's largest bank after merging with now-defunct Housing and Commercial Bank of Korea in 2001, has faced tougher competition from expanding foreign lenders. -- AFP