Banks Announced Almost 50,000 Job Cuts This Year, Led by Europe

(Bloomberg) -- Banks across the globe have announced more than 48,500 job cuts this year as the outlook for the economy weakens. Nowhere was that more pronounced than in Europe, where lenders are bracing for a continuation of the negative interest rates that have eaten into their profits for the past five years.

Germany’s troubled Deutsche Bank AG tops the list with a plan to eliminate 18,000 employees, or almost 20% of its workforce, through 2022. But Spain’s Banco Santander SA, HSBC Holdings Plc and Barclays Plc in the U.K., and France’s Societe Generale SA are slashing thousands of jobs as well. UniCredit SpA is weighing as many as 10,000 cuts, people familiar with the matter have said, though those numbers aren’t included in the global tally yet.

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The total number of bank jobs being slashed around the world is probably even higher because some banks are shrinking without disclosing the gross impact. And then there are ongoing reductions that were announced before this year but have yet to be completed.

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