MUFG Targets 50 Job Cuts in London Voluntary Redundancy Plan

(Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is aiming to cut about 50 managerial jobs in London as part of a voluntary redundancy program that is focused on the U.K. capital.

The reduction represents 10% of the 500 directors and managing directors at MUFG’s European headquarters who were offered packages in recent weeks, Tokyo-based spokeswoman Kana Nagamitsu said, confirming a GlobalCapital report.

Japan’s biggest bank has told senior staff in the Americas that it has no plans to implement a voluntary redundancy program there, according to an internal email last month that was seen by Bloomberg. Nagamitsu confirmed the contents of the message and added that Asia was not being targeted either.

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The cuts in London add to woes in a city where banks are grappling with factors ranging from Brexit to low interest rates and the need for more automation. Japan’s Nomura Holdings Inc. has been letting people go there, and HSBC Holdings Plc and Deutsche Bank AG are among firms that are poised to do the same.

MUFG has about 2,000 employees in London, the base for its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It offers services ranging from corporate finance to structured finance and capital markets.

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