A total of 296 employees and staff members of Brac Bank Ltd lost their jobs amid the Covid-19 pandemic, intensifying panic of further jobs and salary cuts in the country's banking sector.
The job cuts in the bank took place between April and August this year, which the bank's officials cited due to poor performance, employment termination, job changes and not acquiring adequate skills after being employed at the bank.
“Termination or job cuts from Brac Bank are matters of routine work. But most lose their jobs from the bank due to weak excuses,” said a former Brac Bank employee, seeking anonymity.
No one speaks openly about these issues for fear of losing their own jobs, he also said, having lost his job from the bank recently.
However, Brac Bank communications head Ekram Kabir said no one was fired due to the pandemic.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, he said that it was a routine process for employees to leave their jobs and replace them with new employees in any organization.
In that process, from April to August of this year, out of 8,279 employees of the bank, 296 employees left Brac Bank, Ekram Kabir explained.
Of the 296 employees, 11 employees were terminated for violating the discipline of the bank, he added.
He further remarked that the 296 employees left Brac bank amid the pandemic due to various reasons, including overseas immigration, better jobs in other financial organizations and also beginning their own businesses.
Most of the employees who work in the sales department resigned from their jobs due to failing their monthly and annual business targets, he explained.
Rabiul Islam (not real name), a former employee of sales department of the bank, said the bank authorities asked him to submit his resignation letter as they could not remove him without any reason.
He claimed that the bank authorities forced him to resign.
Dhaka Tribune correspondent tried to reach Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Md Serajul Islam about the issue over phone, but he did not respond.
Almost all bankers of other private commercial banks are disappointed and in a state of fear and anxiety over salary cuts and the possibility of losing their jobs.
A number of commercial banks in the country already implemented cutting salaries to adjust operational costs driven by the coronavirus pandemic, crippling the banking business for more than three months.
Recently, at least 80 employees of AB Bank were either terminated or forced to resign during the pandemic.
Earlier on June 14, Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) issued a 13- point recommendation to private banks that included as high as 15% salary cut.
However, senior bankers said the salary cut would create multidimensional problems including social issues for bank staff.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, former Bangladesh Bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed said that termination and salary cuts were not logical in any way.
Other serving bank employees would be disappointed by salary cuts and termination, he added.
Such decisions amid the pandemic were sending the wrong signal to other sectors, said Salehuddin Ahmed.
He mentioned that banks could reduce other operating costs by reducing office expenses, suspending new purchases and new appointments, etc.
