Buses may be harder to come by in some parts of Israel soon.
The directorate of the Egged cooperative, which operates buses throughout Israel, on Monday voted in some cost-cutting measures that would see as many as 160 employees dismissed. The plan will save the company NIS 100 million, but will reduce manpower – including possibly among the company's bus drivers.
Most of the jobs will be “saved” by retiring workers or buying out their contracts, and not rehiring for those positions. Most of the dismissed workers will be in management and operations. Several “bus districts,” responsible for traffic in their areas, will be eliminated, with operations handed off to another district. Hours for managers and other workers will be cut, and the company plans to renegotiate its contracts for maintenance workers, seeking to reduce the outlay on cleaning services by millions of shekels.
Also to be renegotiated are several of the workers' benefits, including dental and health insurance. Egged will seek cheaper alternatives to the current providers, hoping to save some NIS 10 million on health costs.
According to Egged chairman Avi Friedman, “this is a long-term, company-wide strategic plan to make the company more efficient. The plan will make the company more financially stable and allow us to meet the challenges of the future.” The company, he added, would do its best to ensure that service to customers was not compromised.