Several weeks ago, it emerged that around 130 employees from the IT department of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) would be transferred to Kyndryl, a US company specialising in IT infrastructure services.
The transfer is due to take place on 1 September. BIL previously said the concerned employees would receive guarantees that their jobs would be protected for at least the next two years.
However, the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) and the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) say it had not previously been disclosed that Kyndryl itself was already implementing a redundancy plan affecting at least 24 employees.
According to a joint statement issued by the unions, Kyndryl had been aware of the plan since 9 July but did not inform BIL management.
The OGBL and LCGB described the situation as a "double betrayal", affecting both Kyndryl's current workforce and the BIL employees preparing to join the company. They said the lack of transparency represented a serious breach of trust and was incompatible with the principles of social dialogue.
The unions questioned how Kyndryl could reassure incoming BIL employees about job security while a redundancy plan was already under way within the company.
They also stressed that Kyndryl’s existing employees should not bear the consequences of management decisions, pledging to support those affected and defend their rights.
OGBL and LCGB said they would use all available trade union channels to establish exactly what happened, obtain answers from Kyndryl, and determine responsibility for the lack of disclosure.
They are calling for the jobs of all current Kyndryl employees, as well as those transferring from BIL, to be safeguarded, arguing that the roughly 130 incoming workers are entitled to full transparency and firm guarantees over their future employment.
