Lenders make radical shifts in workforce structures

Lenders make radical shifts in workforce structures

Banks have adopted significant shifts in their workforce structures to optimise expenses and enhance profits.

State lender BIDV cut nearly 1,000 staff last year, reducing the total number of employees from about 30,000 to 29,000, but still leads the industry in terms of headcount.

At the end of 2024, the bank’s consolidated profit was estimated to exceed $1.24 billion, up 12 per cent on-year. The average employee cost at BIDV rose by more than 8 per cent in 2024, approximating $1,790 per person, per month.

Similarly, last year southern commercial lender Sacombank reduced its workforce by 426 people compared to the end of 2023, bringing the total to just over 18,000 employees. Compared to its peak in 2019, the bank has cut nearly 1,150 jobs. However, Sacombank’s employee costs have steadily increased over the years, surging from $114.3 million in 2015 to $296.7 million in 2024.

As a result, the average income of Sacombank employees has been increasing. In 2016, the employee’s average monthly salary was just $600, but last year, it touched $1,350.

According to Sacombank’s latest consolidated financial statement, in 2024 the bank counted $509 million in pre-tax profits, up 33 per cent on-year, surpassing its full-year profit target by 20 per cent.

Similarly, lenders such as VIB, ACB, ABBank, and Nam A Bank reduced their workforces last year, cutting 517, 365, 71, and 40 employees, respectively.

These cuts contributed to cost savings, which positively affected the profit picture. The sector witnessed significant shifts in workforce structures last year. While some banks aggressively reduced staff, several others embraced recruitment expansion. VPBank, for example, was one of the standout banks in 2024 by adding 2,455 employees, leading the sector in terms of hiring.

The bank’s total headcount rose from 24,973 to 27,428, a 9.8 per cent increase. Regarding the parent bank alone, the total number of employees grew from about 13,600 at the end of 2023 to 15,000 at the end of 2024, an increase of 1,400 staff.

Similarly, MB recruited an additional 2,315 employees, bringing its total workforce to 18,639, an increase of 14.2 per cent, the highest growth rate in the sector in 2024.

Ho Chi Minh City-based HDBank was also on a recruitment drive in 2024, hiring an additional 1,188 employees. Meanwhile, Vietcombank and LPBank added more than 810 and 560 new employees, respectively.

The consolidated financial report for Q4, 2024 of 27 listed banks shows that by the end of 2024, the total number of employees at these banks reached approximately 279,000 people, up nearly 3 per cent, equivalent to more than 7,400 people, compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

Among these banks, 19 recorded an increase in their workforce last year. Meanwhile, the remaining eight banks have reportedly reduced staff by as much as hundreds in departments that were streamlined to boost operational efficiency.

These figures reflect the differences in development trajectories among banks, with some units proactively expanding in scale to meet business demands, while others focused on restructuring their workforce to improve operational efficiency.

According to Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan from the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City, reducing staff is not only happening in the banking sector but is a general trend across many sectors and in many countries.

“In the financial-banking sector, due to the pace of digital transformation, the reduction in staff is more evident. For example, the emergence of branchless banking models, as well as the near-total adoption of online transactions for nearly all banking operations in some banks, has led to surplus traditional job positions such as tellers, receptionists, and staff in charge of statistics,” said Huan.

Experts assume that AI technology will develop vigorously in the forthcoming years, replacing more jobs in the banking sector than in any other field. AI technology is increasingly applied by banks to handle various tasks, from administrative work to statistical operations, product and service recommendations, as well as supporting information verification and data analysis.

“Therefore, the shift in workforce dynamics in the finance-banking sector will continue to intensify, requiring credit institutions to balance investments in training, upskilling their workforce, and renewing recruitment policies to retain employees in strategic roles,” Huan added.

VIR