Acceleration Through Digital Transformation
Expanding Voluntary Retirement Targets Increasingly
[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] It has been confirmed that a total of approximately 1,330 employees decided to leave banks through voluntary retirement programs conducted at the beginning of the new year. This number exceeds half of last year's voluntary retirees from the five major commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup), which totaled 2,092. Additionally, banks that conduct voluntary retirement twice a year are emerging one after another, so the number of bank employees returning home this year is expected to be even higher compared to the previous year.
According to the financial sector on the 23rd, a total of about 1,330 bank employees have left or are preparing to leave banks through voluntary retirement programs conducted by three banks: KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Hana Bank.
At Kookmin Bank, a total of 674 employees will leave the bank. Kookmin Bank accepted voluntary retirement applications until the 6th and has finalized the number of retirees after screening.
Last year, about 800 employees retired through voluntary retirement at Kookmin Bank. The reason this year’s number is lower is believed to be because the eligible birth years for voluntary retirement were narrowed to 1966?1971, compared to last year’s 1965?1973. However, it is still more than 200 higher than the 462 retirees in 2020.
Shinhan Bank confirmed the retirement of about 250 employees through voluntary retirement applications accepted until the 11th. Shinhan Bank conducted voluntary retirement twice last year, in January and July, resulting in about 350 employees leaving the company. In January 2020, when voluntary retirement was conducted only once, about 250 employees left the bank.
At Hana Bank, about 400 employees have expressed their desire for voluntary retirement, and the final confirmation is currently under discussion. Last year, a total of 511 employees left the bank through special retirement programs for quasi-retirement and wage peak systems.
The problem is that banks are increasingly considering voluntary retirement in the second half of the year, and the scale of voluntary retirement is growing. Although banks have been posting record profits every year, the digital transformation has become a key issue, leading to an expansion of voluntary retirement eligibility and offering generous conditions to reduce workforce size. Because of this, there is a high possibility that additional voluntary retirement programs will be conducted this year.
A banking industry official stated, "As branch closures continue due to digital transformation, an increase in voluntary retirement is unavoidable for the time being," adding, "This trend is expected to continue every year."
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