CIMB Singapore lays off staff after restructuring; Orchard branch to close
Bank declines to comment on how many employees affected and in which departments
Singapore
CIMB Singapore will be laying off staff and shutting its branch in Orchard Road as part of a restructuring exercise following a review of its business, according to an internal memo seen by The Business Times.
This comes as the bank revises its strategy to emphasise on sustainable growth, in line with the group's vision to be a "leading focused Asean bank", wrote CIMB Singapore's chief executive officer Victor Lee in the memo sent on the morning of March 23.
"This would entail optimising our functional setup, leveraging our group's strengths through regionalisation, and closing our branch in Orchard to fully focus on our main branch in Raffles Place," he wrote in the memo. "These will make us more resilient, more productive and better-positioned for growth going forward."
When queried by BT, the bank declined to comment on the number of staff affected and which departments they come from. The spokesperson said that it is "working with internal and external support groups to assist affected staff during the transition".
CIMB had about 1,200 staff in the Singapore office prior to the cuts.
"Singapore is a core and important market to the CIMB Group, and we will continue to invest in our key growth areas," it said in a statement. "With the group's recalibrated strategy, CIMB Singapore will be further positioned as an Asean banking hub for the group with a focus on wealth management, SME banking, regional corporates, and treasury and markets."
Mr Lee said that the bank's efforts to upskill staff since 2020, particularly in digital, data and design, have allowed it to redeploy over 50 colleagues in new growth areas.
"Regrettably, there will be some in our workforce who will be affected by the restructuring," he wrote in the memo. "We will ensure affected staff are informed at the earliest possible date and all efforts will be made to assist them with the transition."
It is understood that all affected staff have been notified.
Mr Lee said that the bank will do its best to support affected staff with the opportunity to apply for other roles within the organisation, on-site career counselling and outplacement services.
For those who are unable to tap the internal job opportunities, they will be offered a "separation package that is in line with the market", said the memo. One source told BT that the payout is one month's pay for every year of service, capped at 12 months.
According to a joint statement by the Banking and Financial Services Union (BFSU) and the Singapore Bank Employees' Union (SBEU), CIMB Singapore had given prior notice on the bank's retrenchment exercise. "Since then, BFSU and SBEU have worked closely with the management to negotiate for a fair compensation package for the affected employees," it said. "The unions' key priority is to assist our members; help them find jobs; and ensure that they are treated fairly and with dignity during the exercise."
Sources told BT that the Orchard branch will be closed by end-June, with operations staff there to be affected, while other segments will be offshored.
In the memo, Mr Lee wrote that the bank does not "foresee any further organisation-wide changes to CIMB Singapore after this exercise" and expressed his appreciation for the contributions made by the affected staff.
BT had earlier reported that there has been talk of restructuring within the CIMB Singapore office since the middle of last year.
The bank has seen a wave of management changes in the past few months, with the layoffs of three long-time business heads last November taking the industry by surprise. They have since been replaced by Merlyn Tsai as head of consumer banking, Singapore; Benjamin Tan Wee Chuan as head of commercial banking, Singapore; and Foo Tsiang Wei, head of corporate and investment banking, Singapore.
The group reported dismal full-year results in February, posting a 73.8 per cent drop in net profit to RM1.19 billion (S$387 million). This was partly attributed to a spike in oil and gas impairments in Singapore. The Republic was CIMB's only market which saw losses in all three segments of consumer, commercial and wholesale banking for FY20.
