credit card company Max has fired 50 of the company's 1,500 employees

The economic crisis also reaches credit card company Max: The company, which, controlled by the Warburg Pincus Investment Fund, has fired 50 of the company's 1,500 employees in the last few days (3% of the workforce). In addition, it was decided that the salary of the management and directors of the company be reduced by 10%. Also, the other executives at the company will not receive the salary increases that were due this year.
The company, under Ron Fainero's management, has been in contact with the workers' committee regarding other alternatives to streamlining such as waiver of supplementary pay or recovery allowance, but the parties have not reached consensus. Therefore, management decided to utilize the clause in the collective agreement that allows it to be dismissed. In the meantime, the company's employees will receive the extra salary promised under the original collective bargaining agreement.
The crisis hit Max in two key areas - first, the use of credit cards dropped significantly during the closure period - at a rate that even reached 40%; Although there has been a recovery in recent times, the figures are still lower than 10% compared to pre-crisis. Yesterday evening, Sheva - which is responsible for the payment infrastructure in Israel, announced that it expects a decline in second quarter results due to the decline in credit card use.
In addition, Max's growth engine, like the other credit card companies, was lending to households. This area has been shaking in the recent crisis and it is likely that Max will record an increase in credit losses in this activity. There is also a big question mark regarding the growth of this activity, given the increased risk.
Max's competition, Isracard, actually succeeded in reaching agreements with the workers' committee that included a compromise on overtime pay, recovery fees and bonuses, so that at least for the time being, layoffs do not appear to be expected.