Telecommunications company Digicel has offered its staff incentives to leave as it aims to scale down its workforce to cope with the effects of the economic downturn.

Digicel Bermuda chief executive officer Wayne Caines said yesterday that he expected there would be no lay-offs on the Island as the necessary cuts could be achieved by natural attrition, thanks partly to people leaving this month to go back to college.

Digicel said yesterday it expected around 10 percent of its staff to take advantage of the Voluntary Separation Programme (VSP), which has been offered to staff in 23 of the company’s markets in the Caribbean region.

Both full-time and part-time staff will be eligible for the packages, which are based on years of service, and offer perks including extended health cover, pro rata bonuses and accelerated payments for stock options.

Mr. Caines said the job cuts targets were around 10 percent of local staff and 20 percent of expatriates.

“Digicel Bermuda will not be laying off anyone,” Mr. Caines said yesterday. The company employs around 50 people on the Island and has three retail stores.

Staff have two weeks to decide on whether to opt for the separation packages. Only if Digicel does not achieve the necessary cuts through this process will redundancies be considered.

“This company cares about its employees and the VSP gives them options,” Mr. Caines said.

Employees were briefed on the developments at a staff meeting at 8.45 a.m. yesterday. Staff appeared apprehensive at the start of the meeting, fearing the worst, but became visibly more relaxed as they heard the facts, Mr. Caines said.

“The staff have been challenged and they have accepted the challenge,” Mr. Caines said. “They will continue to strive to give the company 110 percent, so we can continue to grow from great to greater.

“Digicel remains a strong and viable company and we want to allay any of our customers’ concerns about our business. We are strong throughout the Caribbean and in our three newest markets in the British Virgin Islands, Honduras and Panama, we are seeing phenomenal growth.”

Mr. Caines said the company was looking at some restructuring and cutting costs through making efficiencies in areas such as energy use.

Digicel will also make cuts to its sponsorship budget, Mr. Caines said. “We spend a huge amount of money on sponsorships and we will be looking carefully at how we will spend our budget for the upcoming year,” the CEO added. “We sponsor Prospect Primary School, but that is a community project we are working on and that will not be affected.”

Digicel also sponsors the top cricket and football leagues in Bermuda.

Regionally, it sponsors the West Indies cricket team and the Digicel Caribbean Cup football competition, in which Bermuda competes.

Mr. Caines declined to comment on Digicel’s revenues and how they had been impacted by the downturn, saying only that “some months were better than others”.

“We have to adapt to deal with the current economic climate and that will mean more offers to customers to get people using their phones,” Mr. Caines said. “We will give the customer value for money. And we will look to find and secure every form of new technology that is innovative and good for our customers.”

Digicel was founded in 2001 and is a privately held Bermuda-domiciled company led by its Irish founder and chairman Denis O’Brien. It operates in 31 markets, including some Pacific islands, with investments exceeding $3.4 billion and it boasts more than six million customers.