Deutsche Bank Announces Plans to Cut 9,000 Jobs

Last Thursday, Deutsche Bank announced plans calling for a massive reduction in jobs due to recent losses. By 2020, the Frankfurt-based bank plans to cut 4,000 full-time jobs in Germany and close all business operations in 10 countries worldwide, resulting in a total loss of 9,000 full-time workers and 6,000 external contractors. The plan was met with little surprise: Deutsche Bank has been underperforming, with third quarter net losses of 6 billion euros. The bank expects overall figures for the coming years to follow suit. These losses stem largely from settlements of allegations of controlling short term loan interest rates in London, as well as the diminishing growth of Asian markets.  

Deutsche Bank’s new CEO, John Cyran, remarked, “We do not assume that 2016 and 2017 will be strong years. The cost for necessary investments for settling many of our litigation and regulatory matters will continue to be a burden on our figures.”

In hopes of improving its performance, Deutsche Bank will refocus attention to its most successful locations, which include Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

Still, Cyran explained, cutting costs means “reducing some of our front-office and infrastructure staff too. This is never an easy task, and we will not do so lightly.” Share prices in Deutsche Bank fell after the announcement of the plan, but Cyran is concerned mostly with the long term results, stating that his overall goals are to focus on “stabilizing the bank and turning around its long term performance.”