OP plans to axe 250 jobs

OP Financial Group on Tuesday announced that it is now planning to expand the agile operating model to cover the corporate banking and insurance segments.

OP Financial Group initiated a major change in its working practices, said OP in a bulletin.

Approximately 3,000 employees work in the organisations covered by the plan. Based on a preliminary assessment, the plan, if implemented, would result in redundancies of up to 250 employees whose current positions will be terminated. However, at the same time, a number of new roles will be created which OP seeks to offer to those under risk of redundancy.

The organisation based on self-directed teams has proved successful. Feedback from employees has been positive, and costs began to fall during the second quarter. Closer cooperation between business and development experts has been warmly welcomed.

“Our goal is to gradually move to the agile operating model throughout the central cooperative. This will include reducing organisational hierarchy, supporting self-directed teams and ensuring regulatory compliance. We are confident that the new operating model will also bring cost savings,” said OP Financial Group Human Resources Executive Vice President Hannakaisa Länsisalmi.

“By working in an agile manner, we are able to put customer needs at the core of our operations even more strongly, quickly respond to changes in our operating environment, and further improve the employee experience,” Länsisalmi added.