VANCOUVER, B.C.–Vancity Credit Union has announced plans to lay off 7% of its workforce. The credit union is citing financing losses and rising costs as the reasons for the layoffs, according to the CBC.
The layoffs at Canada’s largest credit union will affect approximately 200 workers, the credit union’s CEO, Wellington Holbrook, told the news outlet.
The CBC noted its 2023 annual report shows the credit union ended 2023 with a net loss of $1.3 million after tax. As a result, Holbrook told the CBC the credit union wasn't able to share dividends with members despite previous "record" allocations.
Holbook said rising costs, as well as the "unprecedented" rise in interest rates over the past few years have hit Vancity’s bottom line, specifically because it holds many loans issued at low interest rates and loan volume has slowed overall.
In an interview with BC Today, Holbrook said he “doesn't deny that the financial reality was part of the credit union's decision-making but that restructuring is about meeting broader changes within the financial industry, such as the drop in in-branch transactions,” the report stated.
Union Says CU Becoming a Bank
The report further noted that the B.C. General Employees’ Union represents more than 800 Vancity employees, 30-35 of whom will be affected by the layoff. The union said it was given no notice of the reductions.
"Vancity has been operating more like a bank than a credit union, and this is part of a continuing pattern of abandoning their social values," BCGEU President Paul Finch said in a statement, according to CBC.
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