New boss, new plan
Report: Deutsche Bank cuts jobs in retail banking
6/22/2023, 6:52 p.m
Germany’s largest bank is looking for potential savings. According to reports, Deutsche Bank intends to further thin out its approximately 1,000 branch network and to make cuts, especially in private customer business. Its new head of division is apparently hammering in pegs before taking office.
According to an insider, around 1,700 jobs are at stake in Deutsche Bank’s German private customer business. The new division head Claudio de Sanctis, who will replace Karl von Rohr at the helm of the private customer bank on July 1, wants to cut about ten percent of the 17,000 jobs there over the next few years, a person familiar with the plans told the Reuters news agency. “Manager Magazin” was the first to report on the planned cuts.
According to the magazine, the mortgage business and branches are particularly affected. There is no schedule yet, the insider said. Discussions with trade unions and the works council are still pending. The Verdi union said it was not taking part in such speculation. “Furthermore, the protection against dismissal applies to the private customer bank and numerous infrastructure units.” This protects employees from being fired without severance pay.
Germany’s largest financial institution did not want to comment on the information. However, the bank has been looking for further savings potential for a long time. According to information from Reuters, she also wants to further thin out the branch network, which has around 1,000 branches. The bank recently announced that it would scale back its mortgage lending business. The rating agency S&P wrote of “clear scope” for cost reductions in the private customer division. It has only just recovered from the permanently low interest rates.
De Sanctis, who was previously responsible for private customer business abroad below the board of directors, is hitting pegs with the job cuts before he takes office. On Tuesday, Deutsche Bank announced that he would take over Karl von Rohr’s duties on July 1, a few months earlier than expected. The 50-year-old de Sanctis came to Deutsche Bank from Credit Suisse in 2018. In May, he said stores need to be bigger and more welcoming – a place where people who have the time and interest can go.