KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — CIMB Group Holdings today announced a voluntary separation scheme for its employees in Malaysia and Indonesian unit, PT CIMB Niaga Tbk, in continuation of the job cuts prompted by a regional slowdown.

Emphasising that the move was entirely voluntary, CIMB Group chief executive Tengku Datuk Zafrul Aziz Tengku Aziz added that the scheme was driven both by existing costs and requests by employees.

In a statement on its website, it said employees who take up the offer will receive a severance based on rank and years of service, and will include options for extended medical cover for three years.

It further said successful applicants will be provided re-skilling and put in outplacement programmes, but did not state how many positions it was looking to make redundant.

“The board of commissioners and board of directors of CIMB Niaga have also decided to adopt the MSS and offer it to our staff in Indonesia as this is consistent with the operating strategies of CIMB Niaga.

“This exercise in Indonesia is also timely given no such programme had been offered to staff since the Bank Niaga and Lippo Bank merger seven years ago,” Tengku Zafrul said in the statement.

Employees have until May 29 to apply.

This comes after the country’s second-largest lender cut 15 jobs in its Singapore operations in March as it scaled back on its regional investment banking operations to weather a tough equities market outlook.

The bank previously slashed 50 jobs in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and India, and also shut its Australian offices in early February, cutting 103 jobs.

CIMB’s profit for for October-December fell to RM252 million from RM1.04 billion for the same period in 2013.