Deutsche Bank Targets 450 Jobs in First Round of Branch Closures

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG is seeking to eliminate between 400 and 450 jobs at one of its two retail networks in Germany as a result of branch closures announced last year.

Germany’s largest lender expects an agreement on the cuts, which will affect its Deutsche Bank-branded branches in the country, in the next few weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. An exact number hasn’t been decided and the figure may still change as talks with works councils continue, they said, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are ongoing.

”We’re currently discussing with the labor representatives how to develop the private clients business in Germany, how to adapt the branch network and how to reduce jobs. We cannot preempt the outcome of those talks,” a spokesman said by email. “A decision hasn’t been made at the current juncture. Once this has happened, we will first inform our employees and then the public.”

The reductions are part of Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing’s plan to eliminate 20% of Deutsche Bank’s workforce in a four-year restructuring announced in 2019. But the pace of job cuts at the retail unit has been slow, partly because eliminating jobs is difficult and costly under Germany tough labor laws.

Commerzbank AG, the second-largest listed lender in Germany, this year announced 10,000 job cuts, with each one costing the bank about 160,000 euros.

Deutsche Bank last year announced plans to close 100 out of its 500 Deutsche Bank-branded branches. It’s also shuttering about 100 of its roughly 800 Postbank-branded branches. Talks about associated job cuts there are likely to kick off later this year, one person said.

A labor agreement for cuts to the domestic retail workforce would be the first such deal under Sewing, as previous reductions in the bank’s home market focused on back office staff.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.