Singapore’s «big three» – DBS, OCBC, and UOB – pledged support for the workers amidst an ongoing coronavirus outbreak by halting job cuts for the time being, in line with the relief efforts of global banks.
«While these are clearly challenging times for all, DBS recognizes the key role that we play in support of employees, customers, shareholders, and the community,» said DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, adding that capital and liquidity positions for the bank were strong. «Given the resilience of our franchise, we do not envisage having to undertake any retrenchment exercise because of the COVID-19 situation.»
OCBC CEO Samuel Tsien and UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong also made similar statements, committing to a temporary pause to retrenchment exercises, according to a «Business Times» report.
«For our people, we are committed to seeing them through to better times,» said Wee, adding that the bank had provided each of its workers a box of 50 face masks for personal use as well as relevant online training program during this period.
Global Pause
The announcements by Singapore’s big three will be welcomed by its more than 80,000 employees globally. The city-state’s major lenders will also join global banks in taking a pause from offloading jobs to provide much needed economic support. HSBC, Citi, Morgan Stanley and more have announced delays and these banks collectively represent nearly 80 percent of the 77,780 planned job cuts.
Concurrently, Singapore’s top financial bodies have also united to extend relief to support individuals, small businesses and the interbank funding market.
