WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is offering voluntary retirement and “early separation opportunities” to approximately 20% of its employees as part of a workforce realignment.
The FDIC said the move is not designed to reduce the FDIC budget or the overall size of the workforce.
In a statement the agency said it was making the move “to help reshape the agency's workforce for the future and to enhance preparedness.”
According to the FDIC, over the past year it has undertaken a number of reviews to assess organizational effectiveness and preparedness.
“One critical finding is that 42% of the FDIC's workforce is eligible for retirement within five years, which could deplete the FDIC's institutional experience and knowledge, especially during a crisis,” the agency said. “These workforce challenges were highlighted in a recent report by the FDIC's Office of the Inspector General, which noted that 60% of FDIC executives and 58% of FDIC managers are retirement-eligible, and a ‘wave of potential retirements could deplete the FDIC's institutional experience and knowledge, especially during a crisis … result[ing] in knowledge and leadership gaps.’”
‘Deliberate Strategy’
FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams said the announcement is part of a “deliberate strategy to further reduce layers of management, acquire new skillsets, and to allow the agency to proactively address succession planning prior to any crisis or emergency situation.”
“This program will enhance our agility, preparedness, and technological transformation,” McWilliams said.
The FDIC noted that over the past 15 years the number of its senior managers and executives has grown at more than twice the rate of the agency's total workforce, “creating an imbalance that challenges the agency's agility and its long-term goal of supporting employee empowerment and succession management.”
“This program is not designed to reduce the FDIC budget or the overall size of the workforce,” the FDIC said. “Indeed, the agency remains focused on retaining and growing its examination and risk-related workforce, as well as adding specialized information technology, computer science, data management, and loan review skills at various levels throughout the agency.
Under the program, employees who voluntarily separate or retire from the FDIC will generally receive six months of salary, the agency stated.
The FDIC insures deposits at the 5,177 banks and savings associations as of Dec. 31, 2019.