SocGen's new voluntary redundancy plan will pay MDs €300k+ to leave (again)

There is some good news for anyone at SocGen who was hoping to compensate for a disappointingly small bonus by taking voluntary redundancy. It seems that SocGen's forthcoming voluntary redundancy plan will be nearly as generous as the preceding ones, although there may be conditions attached. 

This, at least, seems to be the case in France, where SocGen delivered its new employment agreement to unions on February 20th. Philippe Fournil of the Confederation Generale du Travail union said the 48 page document contains details of the bank's proposed severance pay. 

In previous voluntary redundancy programs in 2013, 2015 and 2016, SocGen famously offered its top staff packages of up to €340k to leave of their own accords. As the French bank tries to cut €500m in costs and up to 1,500 jobs from its corporate and investment bank, it seems to be opting for something similar again. 

SocGen's new employment agreement is understood to offer future voluntary leavers one month's salary per six months' service, with minimum payments of €25k (or €50k for employees with more than five years' service). These voluntary payments are capped at a maximum of 30 months' salary. Bonuses are not included in the calculations.

With managing directors (MDs) at SocGen in France on salaries of around €200k, some MDs could make around €300k if they go quietly. They might want to do so soon. - SocGen's new agreement also says that the voluntary redundancy package will shrink over time. After six months the minimum sums will reportedly be €15k and €30k and the payments will be capped at a maximum of 24 months' wages. 

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