Staff reductions are expected at Hellenic Bank as its acquisition by Greece’s Eurobank group nears completion by year-end, though no formal discussions have begun with the bank workers’ union ETYK.
The merger would combine Hellenic’s retail-focused operation, with 53 branches, 156 ATMs and 2,274 employees, with Eurobank Cyprus’s predominantly corporate banking business, which operates eight branches with 472 staff and no ATMs.
While no official announcement has been made regarding redundancies, industry analysts expect any voluntary exit scheme to follow the banking sector’s standard practice of offering maximum compensation of 200,000 euros per employee.
Hellenic Bank’s last voluntary exit programme in November 2022 saw 446 employees depart, representing about 16% of the group’s workforce and annual salary costs of approximately 30 million euros. The bank’s staff costs for the first nine months of 2024 rose 11% year-on-year to 99.4 million euros, accounting for 46% of total expenses.
Bank of Cyprus CEO Panicos Nicolaou has previously indicated a shift towards smaller, periodic staff reduction schemes targeting 40-50 employees at a time, reflecting the broader industry trend towards digitalisation and reduced physical presence.
Cyprus’s banking sector has seen significant consolidation over the past decade, with total staff numbers falling by 50% from a peak of 12,853 in 2012 to 8,072 in 2020, as more than 6,500 employees left the industry.
