The new regime at Digital Equipment Corp clearly believes that tougher measures are needed to get the company back on track, and DEC has trimmed the severance pay it offers to laid off employees, a move designed to save money as the company sheds up to 25,000 employees. The lay-offs are expected to come over the next two years, and embarked on the new programme in its fiscal first quarter to September 26, when 5,300 left the payroll, bringing its worldwide work force down to about 108,500. Under the new redundancy package, effective immediately, employees with up to 10 years of service get nine weeks pay plus one week of pay for every year with DEC, down from two weeks’ pay for every year. Employees with 11 or more years of service will get the nine weeks pay, a lump-sum payment of 10 weeks’ pay, and another two weeks’ pay for each year of service beyond 10 years, down from three years; maximum is 52 weeks.
