The trend of workforce downsizing is expected to continue in early 2025, driven by digitalization and operational restructuring.

Eight banks in Vietnam reduced their workforce in 2024, according to financial reports, and further reductions are expected in the first quarter of 2025.

Despite recent controversy surrounding Sacombank’s mass layoffs - including employees with decades of service - the total number of banking personnel across 27 Vietnamese commercial banks increased by nearly 5,500 by the end of 2024 compared to the start of the year.

According to reports from 27 domestic commercial banks (excluding Agribank, which has yet to release financial statements, and five banks under special control), the total workforce as of December 31, 2024, stood at 241,417, marking an increase of 5,467 employees over the year.

Most banks expanded their workforce, with MB and VPBank leading the hiring surge. MB added 1,674 employees, bringing its total staff to 12,155, while VPBank increased by 1,404 employees, reaching 15,003.

Other banks with significant workforce growth included HDBank, which added 965 employees (totaling 10,592), Vietcombank with 796 new hires (reaching 23,538 employees), and LPBank with 562 new staff members (totaling 11,189).

Banking workforce dynamics

In terms of workforce size, the three largest state-owned commercial banks - BIDV (26,000 employees), Vietcombank (23,500), and VietinBank (22,500) - led the sector. However, Agribank remains the largest employer in Vietnam’s banking system, with over 40,000 employees as of June 30, 2024.

Other major banks include Sacombank (17,000 employees), VPBank (15,000), ACB (12,800), MB (12,155), VIB (11,300), LPBank (11,200), Techcombank (11,000), and HDBank (10,600), all exceeding 10,000 employees.

On the other end of the spectrum, Saigonbank and Viet A Bank (1,500 employees each) and PGBank (1,900 employees) had the smallest workforces in the sector.

Banks with fewer than 5,000 employees include NCB (2,060), BVBank (2,849), VietBank (2,864), KienlongBank (3,587), ABBank (3,700), and Bac A Bank (3,800).

Despite LPBank's recent hiring surge, it previously led the industry in layoffs, cutting over 1,500 jobs in 2023. Over the past decade, its workforce has fluctuated significantly, now standing at more than three times its size from ten years ago.

However, LPBank has recently taken steps to streamline operations, reducing its specialized divisions from 16 to 8, resulting in further job cuts in early 2024 - part of an industry-wide trend driven by banking digitalization.

Sacombank’s major workforce cuts

Following the Lunar New Year, Sacombank, led by Chairman Duong Cong Minh, also implemented significant layoffs. Many affected employees did not hold university degrees and were forced to seek new jobs elsewhere.

Sacombank was among the eight banks that reduced their workforce in 2024. As of December 31, 2024, its staff stood at 17,058, reflecting a reduction of 354 employees from the beginning of the year. The full impact of these job cuts will become clearer by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

While downsizing has been an ongoing trend in the banking sector for several years, most banks have carried out these reductions quietly. Simultaneously, banks continue to hire for critical positions. A vice chairman of a commercial bank noted, "Some departments have reduced their staff by 70%, while others are constantly hiring."

Although Sacombank has been at the center of this restructuring, it was not the bank with the most significant layoffs in 2024. BIDV led in job reductions, cutting 1,107 employees, bringing its total workforce down to 26,069.

VIB, which saw the largest hiring surge in 2023 with 1,800 new employees, cut 476 jobs in 2024, ranking second in workforce reduction after BIDV, leaving it with 11,323 employees.

ACB followed with a reduction of 377 employees, bringing its total to 12,847 (after a 600-person increase in 2023).

The other banks that reduced staff in 2024 were TPBank (down 59 employees), ABBank and Nam A Bank (each cutting 51 jobs), and KienlongBank (down 28 employees).

Bank employee salaries: Who pays the most?

Despite workforce reductions, average salaries in the banking sector remain competitive. Among listed banks, Techcombank offered the highest average salary in 2024, paying its employees approximately $1,900 per month.

Other banks with high average monthly salaries included:

HDBank: $1,530

Vietcombank: $1,500

ACB: $1,490

BIDV: $1,490

VietinBank: $1,480

TPBank: $1,350

MSB: $1,330

VIB: $1,240

VPBank: $1,230

NCB: $1,230

Sacombank: $1,220

SeABank: $1,200

Tuan Nguyen