Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407290066
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Richmond-based company, which operates its western division from Roanoke, said the reorganization will cost 800 positions by the end of this year and another 200 by the end of next year.
The company had no geographical breakdown of the job losses. It employs 8,000.
The reorganization will coincide with the spinoff of Signet's credit card operation into a separate company to be called OakStone Financial Corp. That move, announced Wednesday, involves a public offering of just under 20 percent of the shares in the new company. Signet stockholders will receive the balance of the OakStone stock.
Teri Temples, spokeswoman for Signet Banking Corp. in Richmond, said about 6,000 people work for the core bank and 2,000 are employed by the credit card division.
But more than 2,000 positions will transfer to OakStone Financial when the new company is created, Temples said. That transfer will account for some of the eliminated positions.
The company also plans to offer an early retirement plan to some workers, Temples said, and vacated positions will not be filled so there will be normal attrition.
The number of layoffs depends on the reductions achieved by other methods, she said.
Signet plans to reshape the bank during the next six months to improve efficiency and make it more responsive to customers, Chairman Robert Freeman said. Every business practice will be re-examined, he said.
Signet's employees already are aware that the reorganization will result in some layoffs, and the bank will do everything possible to minimize the impact on them, Freeman said.
by CNB