Numerous Deutsche Bank employees around the globe were told to leave on Monday, with the German lender eliminating entire teams in Asia and Australia as part of its massive plan to “restart” some business operations.
Cuts began on Monday morning in Sydney, Hong Kong and other locations in the Asia-Pacific region. In Asia alone, Deutsche Bank will close all operations, though the majority of the redundancies will take place in the US and Europe. The German firm said it will reduce its global workforce to 74,000 by 2022 in a move that will cost €7.4 billion ($8.31 billion) altogether.
The bank did not reveal which jobs will be lost, but announced that it will completely withdraw from areas relating to trading shares – the bulk of which is concentrated in London and New York.
Elsewhere, those being let go will be offered redundancy packages prior to their departure. A Hong Kong-based equities trader told Reuters that the mood inside his division was “pretty gloomy” as employees were being called to meetings. “[There are a] couple of rounds of chats with HR and then they give you this packet and you are out of the building,” he said.
Christian Sewing, Deutsche Bank CEO, called the measure “a restart” which will make the company focus on its clients, bringing it closer “to our roots and to what once made us one of the leading banks in the world.”
He referred to “uncomfortable decisions” and added that he understands “this impacts people and affects their lives in a profound way.”
The drastic measure comes after Deutsche Bank failed to merge with rival Commerzbank in April. The merger had been supported by the German government, but both banks left the talks after they concluded that the deal would be too costly.
Deutsche Bank has been struggling with the decline of its businesses since the 2008 financial crisis. Despite being Germany’s largest bank, it experienced problems establishing sustainable revenues. Its failed merger with Commerzbank meant that it had to take action to stay afloat and boost market confidence.
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