World Bank moves to quell staff revolt 

The World Bank’s chief financial officer has agreed to forgo a $94,500 annual bonus in order to quell a staff revolt hitting the bank as the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors gather in Washington for its annual meeting.

Jim Kim, the World Bank president, has been facing criticism from staff since he announced plans to radically reorganise the bank’s structure as part of a plan to make $400m in savings. But employees have been expressing increasing annoyance with the changes since they were implemented in July.

That staff revolt flared again last week after it emerged that Bertrand Badré, who joined the bank from Société Générale in March 2013, was being awarded an annual “scarce skills premium” on top of his $379,000 annual salary.

At a hastily called meeting on Tuesday that was witnessed by an FT reporter, Mr Kim told staff members that Mr Badré would be giving up his bonus. But that did not stop the president from facing a tirade of questions from concerned staff who complained of sinking morale, increasing layers of management and a culture of penny pinching as a result of the restructuring.

Only about half the $400m in planned savings have been made, according to bank officials. That has raised the prospect of staff cuts and other changes that have created more anxiety among staff members.

“We are implementing fundamental changes to our development delivery model to become fit for purpose to meet today’s most pressing challenges,” said David Theis, a spokesman for the World Bank. “Of course staff unease is natural and understandable in any large organisation undergoing such a large-scale realignment. We believe we will come out of this process as a stronger, more unified organisation, better positioned to achieve our mission.”

Source: FT- World Bank moves to quell staff revolt

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