Layoffs Watch '12: Deutsche Bank

Cuts are said to have gone down in DB IBD. From the front lines: "Yet another round of layoffs here (2nd / 3rd round in most groups). Following the same pattern of 2-3 per group to avoid big news. All levels affected. Another possible round coming before year end."

Author:

Bess Levin

Cuts are said to have gone down in DB IBD.

From the front lines:

"Yet another round of layoffs here (2nd / 3rd round in most groups). Following the same pattern of 2-3 per group to avoid big news. All levels affected (lev fin is down to 4 analysts for the entire NY office!). Another possible round coming before year end."

News

The Germans are "going on a diet" that will involve a "painstaking, methodical, meticulous approach to boosting efficiency" and "very significantly streamlining" in the investment bank and no one, not even the people hiding out in Chicago are safe. "Yet more DB cuts: 3 directors, 1 managing director and 1 vp in Chicago last week." [MarketWatch]

News

The Germans are not yet done firing employees in Asia. Deutsche Bank fired around a third of the staff in its Asia equity derivatives business on Tuesday, as part of a global cost savings plan announced on July 31, according to sources familiar with the matter. Just over 20 people remain in the division, down from a number in the mid 30s, according to one source, as Deutsche Bank and others seek to cut costs in businesses that are failing to generate adequate revenues as the global economy slows. The bank let go five traders, four product structurers and at least one salesperson from the division, the sources said, adding that the numbers were not yet finalised because the discussions were continuing...These cuts follow on the heels of layoffs in June in Deutsche Bank's Asian equities business, which like its counterparts at other firms globally has been struggling this summer due to slack trading volumes and a sharp decline in new share issuance. Deutsche Bank cuts a third of jobs in Asia equity derivs [Reuters]

News

The Germans thought about it and decided yes, layoffs sound like a great idea. Deutsche Bank said it will eliminate 1,900 jobs, including 1,500 at the investment bank, as part of an effort to save 3 billion euros ($3.68 billion). Deutsche Bank, based in Frankfurt, forecast “substantial costs” to achieve the savings without giving a figure in a statement to the stock exchange today. The job reductions are part of a strategy review Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen, Deutsche Bank’s new co-chief executive officers, are conducting as the lender grapples with declining revenue from the investment bank, which reported a 63 percent decline in second-quarter earnings today...“The time for vague promises of cultural change in our industry is long gone,” Jain said on a conference call with analysts and reporters. Deutsche Bank’s leaders are “totally determined to act quickly and decisively.” Deutsche Bank To Cut 1,900 Jobs In Bid To Save EU3 Billion [Bloomberg]

News

The Germans are considering sending some bankers to live on a farm upstate, where there's plenty of fresh air and room to run around. Europe’s biggest bank by assets, is considering cutting about 1,000 positions at its investment bank as revenue declines, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The cuts will be mostly outside Germany, where the firm’s investment banking operations are focused, said the person, who asked not be identified as Deutsche Bank’s plan hasn’t been made public. [Bloomberg]

News

The aforementioned layoffs are said to begin this week. "FYI: BofA cuts are expected to start Thursday, thought to be 20% across the board in IB. All levels affected but with 2nd and 3rd year VPs who are not going to make director, of which there is a glut, hit especially hard. If you're a first year VP (without acct coverage responsibilities), you're probably going into the superpods."

Layoffs Watch '12: Deutsche Bank