British telecoms provider BT is encouraging staff to work temporarily for other companies to avoid further redundancies, in the latest example of firms seeking creative alternatives to firing staff.
A BT spokesman said today staff were being asked to volunteer for secondments of at least a month to other companies in “like-minded industries”, during which they would be paid by the firm to which they were being lent.
“We're looking for new ways to keep staff during a recession," he said. "We've used secondments for some time to improve skills.”
BT has already cancelled all pay rises and cut the majority of its bonuses following two profit warnings. Its workforce, including contractors, fell by 15,000 to 147,000 in the year to March, and it expects a similar scale of cuts this year.
Earlier this week, British Airways asked its staff to work for free as part of what it called a survival plan after reporting a record loss last month.
The appeal, to its British-based employees, asks for volunteers to take between a week and a month in unpaid leave or unpaid work. The company is also in discussions with its pilots about taking pay cuts.
Spanish bank BBVA recently offered to pay long-term employees almost a third of their salary to go away for up to five years, keeping their posts until they return.
Reuters