VICTORIA, B.C. — The Insurance Corp. of B.C. (ICBC) is asking 800 of its own workers to volunteer to be bought out in yet another effort to trim costs.

The voluntary buyout will reduce the staff by 12 per cent while saving as much as $35 million a year in salaries.

ICBC president Thom Thompson hinted that the company will shift its focus from the "ambitious road safety activities" that were part of its mandate over the past five years, and concentrate more on providing insurance coverage.

Although there’s still no official word that auto insurance competition will be allowed, Premier Gordon Campbell has hinted that and some observers feel the restructuring of ICBC is a step toward preparing for the inevitability of competition.

As part of the buyout package, which employees have until Sept. 28 to accept, workers will receive three weeks pay for every year they worked there.