Voluntary redundancy

While talks between the management and the unionists at OTE are resuming on Thursday, aiming at the signing of a new collective labor contract, it appears the Deutsche Telekom-owned group is entering a fresh period of shrinking both its staff and its operation costs.

The production of Vlachas condensed milk, one of the country's most popular, will cease in Greece after the decision by local company Delta Foods to shut down the condensed milk factory at Platy in Imathia, central Macedonia. Delta decided that the unit's operation is no longer profitable.

By George Georgiopoulos

Greece's fourth-biggest lender Alpha Bank said on Monday that about 21 percent of its 10,000 employees took up a voluntary redundancy offer the bank launched last month as part of moves to cut costs.

Alpha had aimed to cut about 15 to 20 percent of its workforce to squeeze its cost base under a restructuring plan approved by the EU Commission.

Greece’s betting monopoly OPAP has begun a voluntary redundancy scheme for about three-quarters of its staff to cut costs, one of its biggest unions said on Thursday.

OPAP, one of Europe’s largest betting companies, declined to say whether it was offering the scheme, which will mainly affect its retail network supporting services.