Having reached an agreement with its works councils on role reductions in Germany, Deutsche Bank announced 1,000 more job cuts in its home nation as a part of the company’s restructuring plan. These job cuts will be on top of the initial 3,000 job losses stated earlier. This brings the total number of job reductions to 4,000.
This is a part of the 9,000 jobs reduced worldwide to make the group “more competitive” as a part of its new strategy. “We consistently implement our strategy to make the bank more efficient,” said Karl von Rohr, member of Deutsche Bank’s Management Board, in a press release.
“We are fully aware that today’s decision is a difficult change with significant personal impact for many employees. We will ensure that any staff reductions are carried out in a socially responsible manner,” he added.
These job cuts will most affect the back-office staff as in Information Technology services. Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest lender announced strategic overhaul in 2015 to cut 9,000 staff positions, of which 4,000 would be in Germany.
The Bank plans to shed almost 3,000 jobs in Germany, with 2,500 in its retail unit, and shut down 188 branches. This would leave the financial German giant with 535 branches, compared to an original target of 500. It will start closing down branches before the end of the year, with the bulk to be shut in the first half of 2017, according to CNBC.
Dutch ING is also expecting a tough battle ahead after making the announcement to cut 7,000 jobs or around 12 per cent of staff in favour of digital investment. Unions were highly critical in Belgium, where the number of jobs lost will be highest at 3,500. Labour leader Herman Vanderhaegen called the decision a “horror show.”
These cuts were the biggest since 2009 when ING was asked to restructure and spin off its insurance activities after receiving a bail out during the financial crisis, Asia One reported. Other large banks have also announced massive layoffs in the past year to boost profitability. ING in its defense said the job cuts were partly to combine the technology platforms and risk control centres, to help it contend with low interest rates and regulatory burdens.
Another troubled German bank, Commerzbank, plans to cut 9,600 jobs and suspend dividend. The second biggest bank in Germany decided to cut almost one in five of its employees worldwide. “We simply don’t earn enough money to lead the bank sustainably and successfully into the future. And this situation will get worse if we don’t do something about it,” chief executive Martin Zielke said in a draft note to employees, according to Reuters.
