The merger between Crelan and AXA banks is putting 150 jobs at risk at head office, but no redundancies are planned for the moment.
The merger has created Belgium's fifth largest bank following Crelan's acquisition of AXA Bank in 2021. Customers of the latter will be transferred to the former's IT systems in June.
The impact on staffing will also be considerable. Several sources have suggested to L'Echo that the merger will incur 150 job losses at the senior level. Crelan has since confirmed that this will occur over the "long-term", although no exact time frame has been established. In any case, this constitutes a 12% reduction in employees.
However, rather than redundancies, the reductions will occur in the form of "natural departures", non-renewal of temporary contracts and possible early retirement.
"As 200 colleagues are approaching retirement age (between 60 and 65) and there are many temporary contracts as part of the merger (59), the reduction in headcount will occur naturally," said Crelan spokesperson Caroline Beauvois. "In addition, we are continuing to focus on internal mobility and on-the-job training so that employees can grow with the new bank."
Related News
- Crelan and Axa Banque merge to form Belgium's fifth largest bank
- Banks and ATMs disappearing in Brussels, especially in poor neighbourhoods
Meanwhile, trade unions have been negotiating with both banks to ensure that pay and working conditions are uniform following the merger. Staff approved the agreement on Friday.
In concrete terms, all employees will work 37 hours a week. This marks a one-hour increase for staff coming from Crelan, who will receive compensation for the change.
