ATTRITION TO EASE THE PAIN

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 18, 1992                   TAG: 9201180145
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
ATTRITION TO EASE THE PAIN
Dominion Bankshares Corp. said Friday it will take as long as a year to implement fully the massive restructuring it announced earlier this week. By then, attrition and other actions may soften the blow that will eliminate 500 jobs from the bank's 5,300-person work force.
"Very little is effective immediately," said Mark Formica, executive vice president for consumer banking.
On Wednesday, Roanoke-based Dominion said it would immediately close two subsidiaries, Dominion Leasing Co. and the capital markets operation in its investment company. Also effective right away were layoffs of about 30 workers at the bank's operations and credit card centers in Roanoke.
Ultimately, Dominion will close as many as 30 branches systemwide, along with some other cost-cutting measures. When all of the steps are complete, the bank expects to save $10 million a year.
Dominion is still weighing which branches will be closed, Formica said. Those under consideration include two in Roanoke at Ridgewood Farms Kroger and the Roanoke Regional Airport.
The branches under consideration were identified, Formica explained, so the staff and customers at other branches could be confident that their offices will remain open.
Although the number represents close to 10 percent of Dominion's branches, Formica said those under study account for only 2 percent of the bank's business.
The bank made an announcement Wednesday, Formica said, because it felt "an obligation to all of our constituencies to inform them of what our plans are and why we are doing what we do."
By saying what it intends to do, the bank was "trying to reduce anxiety in the marketplace." Rumors about the cutbacks and level of layoffs had been circulating for several weeks.
Formica said the bank benefits "when people understand what we're doing and why." He called the announcement a context for understanding the bank's actions over the next year.
The study process, Formica said, is "very involved." The bank will assess the reaction of the community and the impact of closing a particular branch, for example.
When a decision is made, customers will be given 90 days' written notice, he said. That means no branch could close before July 1. He said a more likely date is in late summer or fall.
Most of the 500 jobs will be eliminated gradually because "we are trying to minimize the number of layoffs."
As a hypothetical example, Formica said, the bank may plan to cut the staff of a unit from 20 to 15 people because of a new, more efficient system of handling that division's work. If Dominion waits until May, he said, attrition may in fact reduce the work force.
Attrition also will be used to replace some full-time tellers with those willing to work just 12 to 15 hours a week. Dominion said it plans to employ many tellers only at peak periods, mostly at mid-day when it reduces waiting time for customers.
Employment changes will come gradually over the next year, Formica said, letting the bank "minimize the impact on employment."
Dominion expects to decide by the end of March whether it will sign a contract for outside management of its data processing. That move could lead to further downsizing of the operation.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB