Petrobras announced that the enrollment period for the Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan (PIDV), announced to the market on January 17, ended on March 31. Validated PIDV enrollment reached 8,298 employees, which represents 12.4% of the company’s total workforce. The company expect 55% of the separations to take effect in 2014. Significant cost savings will be reached and should amount, conservatively, to R$ 13 billion from 2014 to 2018.

The estimated amount of the financial incentives to be paid to employees enrolled in the Plan will be provisioned in the first quarter of 2014 Financial Statements, totaling R$ 2.4 billion, with an effect of R$ 1.6 billion on the result, net of deferred taxes of R$ 815 million. We expect the cost of this financial incentive to be compensated within 9 months after the separation of the employee, on average.

The PIDV was developed to adjust the company’s personnel to the challenges of the 2014-2018 Business and Management Plan and to the goals of the Cost Optimization Program (PROCOP), considering knowledge retention, which is essential to the Company’s growth and operational continuity in a safe and sustainable manner.  Moreover, PIDV comes in line with the expectations of thousands of our employees.