Germany: Deutsche Bank to cut one fifth of workforce by 2022

On Sunday 7 July, Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank announced a vast restructuring that seeks to make the group more profitable and streamlined, with some 18,000 job cuts planned by 2022, which accounts for around one fifth of the company’s current workforce. Deutsche Bank, which has been in an almost perpetual crisis since 2008, plans in particular to slash parts of its investment banking business. Traditionally a strong earner for the bank, this division has caused a fair share of problems in recent years, such as risky assets and legal troubles. Deutsche Bank is to withdraw completely from the equities sales and trading business, and will trim down the rates aspect of its fixed income sales and trading operations. Though no details have been provided on the nature of the job cuts across the German bank, it would appear that investment bankers and traders – some of the highest paid and most prestigious roles – are to be the hardest hit, with the bank’s sites in London and New York to be affected most significantly. Part of the German group’s equities sales and trading business, including staff, is to be transferred to France’s BNP Paribas, according to a statement. Frank Bsirske, chairman of German services sector trade union Verdi, said on Sunday that he hopes Deutsche Bank “does not resort to redundancies”, just as it has managed “up until now”, having performed several restructurings in the past. The total cost of the planned measures, which includes a winding down of risk-weighted assets, is estimated at more than €7 billion. Deutsche Bank has also announced a reshuffle of its executive board.