News

Massive job cuts continue in the United States, with the announcement by Bank of America, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, that it intends to become a leaner and more efficient company, entailing the loss of one in ten of its 300,000 employees - over the next few years.

With the launch of a new project, "New BAC", Bank of America is seeking to focus all of its resources on better service. In its 2010 Annual Report the bank states as an operating principal that it wants to be the best place for people to work.

Marcio Monzane, Head of UNI Finance Global Union, points to the clear contradiction between the two. “It can’t be the best work place when it has no union representation in its home country and when it announces staff redundancies without any consultations with its employees.”

Monzane underlines his concern about the tendency of leading organisations to serve the markets, not the customers. He warns that such large-scale redundancies will have a negative impact on occupational health and working conditions, stating that this will affect not only those who are losing their jobs but also the remaining employees who will be facing more and more pressure in the future. "This tendency must be stopped,” says Monzane.