Electronic Data Systems, a large U.S. technology services company based in Plano, Texas, has announced that it is offering nearly one-fourth of its staff the option of early retirement.
EDS employs about 136,000 total employees, which includes almost 50,000 in the U.S. The company indicated it was uncertain how many employees would elect the early retirement option. EDS has been in a significant cost cutting mode and cut 5,000 jobs in the past year to improve its bottom line.
The latest announcement from EDS offers employees a very attractive incentive to retire early: they will receive a benefit equal to five times the annual contributions made to their EDS retirement plan, plus $10,000 from the EDS Retirement Plan as applicable. Eligible employees have until October 30th to accept the early retirement offer.