Deutsche Bank set to slash more than 7,000 jobs
Deutsche Bank, which has a major operation in Birmingham, says it will cut around 7,000 staff worldwide in a major shake-up as it struggles to return to profit.
The bank employs most of its 8,500 UK staff in London which is likely to face the brunt of a 25 per cent staff cut in Deutsche's equities sales and trading business.
The Birmingham operation, at offices in Brindleyplace, employs around 1,500 people but most work in 'back-office' administrative roles and are more likely to escape the axe,
Germany's biggest lender is likely to be under fire from its shareholders at its AGM in Frankfurt today after three years of losses
It said the job reductions were part of accelerated cost-cutting across the group which will see its total workforce cut from 97,000 to "well below 90,000".
Deutsche Bank has a significant part of its equities sales & trading business based in London, and the move comes as the City is under pressure as financial businesses look at moves to other cities in Europe because of the likely impact of Brexit.
Deutsche said it was "significantly" reshaping the equities sales and trading business, with a quarter of its worldwide employees being let go while the Cash Equities operation was also being refocused.
“We remain committed to our Corporate & Investment Bank and our international presence – we are unwavering in that,” said Christian Sewing, chairman of the management board. “We are Europe’s alternative in the international financing and capital markets business. However, we must concentrate on what we truly do well.”
In April Deutsche Bank ousted its British chief executive John Cryan after less than three years in post.
The German giant’s supervisory board said they wanted a “new execution dynamic” in the top team, replacing Mr Cryan with retail arm chief Christian Sewing.
In 2015 Germany’s largest bank shook the financial world as it posted multibillion-euro losses due to a series of writedowns and litigation charges.
The six billion euro (£4.3bn) hit led to a massive cost-slashing effort that saw the company cut around 15,000 jobs.
Earlier this year Deutsche Bank reported a 497 million euro loss (£436 million) for 2017 - marking a third consecutive loss for the lender - having been knocked by falling revenues from its investment bank division and the US tax reform.
