BSNL to lay-off 54,000 employees
The board of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) has accepted the government-approved proposal to lay-off 54,000 employees. The board is waiting for elections to get over to take the final call.
According to reports, the BSNL board has approved three out of ten suggestions proposed by an expert panel set up by the government in the March meeting. The three approved suggestions by BSNL board includes reduction of retirement age from the present 60 years to 58 years, Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for all employees aged 50 and above and expediting the allocation of 4G spectrum to BSNL.
The decision on retirement age and VRS will lead to the exit of around 54,451 BSNL employees, which is 31 percent of the company’s 174,312-strong workforce.
The move to trim the retirement age alone will end up reducing the employee count by 33,568 employees and will save BSNL a total of Rs.13, 895 crores over the next six years on the wage bill. The average age of BSNL workforce is estimated to be over 55 years.
Earlier, both BSNL and MTNL were unable to pay salaries to their employees for February. Both the PSUs recently approached the government for financial support and to resolve legacy issues, but the Centre is yet to take any final call.