UniCredit recently reached an agreement with the Italian trade unions over its Transform 2019 plan, which includes 3,900 full-time equivalent redundancies, following similar negotiations with trade unions in Germany and Austria.

Through the new agreement, the Italian redundancy program will include a voluntary pre-retirement plan with access to the financial sector Solidarity Fund, as well as a UniCredit commitment to hire 1,300 employees over the next three years, a measure intended to promote positive generational turnover. The agreement also includes the establishment of a joint committee with trade unions, which will focus on the work organization and help ensure optimal implementation of the new industrial plan and monitor its affects on UniCredit’s operating model.

UniCredit also agreed to allow restructuring in the current welfare offer, including measures like merging the group’s Italian pension funds, revising existing recreation centers, improving the health insurance offered and adding insurance for employees who become unable to work due to disability. Finally, UniCredit will also collaborate with the trade unions to generate new policies on work-life balance and a new career path framework.

UniCredit characterized the agreement with the Italian trade unions, as well as the agreements with their German and Austrian counterparts, as an opportunity to balance the redundancies against its will and need to ensure employee engagement and motivation.