Layoffs Watch '15: Deutsche Bank, Maybe

Author:: Bess Levin
Publish date:: Jan 13, 2015

The Germans are currently mulling over the idea of asking a number of employees to mosey on out of the building and not come back.

Deutsche Bank AG is weighing options such as job cuts and the sale of assets, including its Postbank consumer-lending unit, as Germany’s biggest bank reviews its strategy, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen, Deutsche Bank’s co-chief executive officers, yesterday gave a dim assessment of the revenue outlook and pledged to update their strategy by the end of June. No decisions have been made on what steps will be taken, said the person, who asked not to be identified before the review is completed. Jain and Fitschen told investors when they took charge in 2012 that sticking with trading businesses would pay off this year as competitors retrenched. Deutsche Bank shares fell 33 percent in the past 12 months, the biggest decline among top global investment banks, as trading revenue decreased and litigation costs soared.

Deutsche Bank Said to Weigh Job Cuts, Asset Sales [Bloomberg]

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]

The good news is that 75% of the current staff still has a job. The less good 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]

Apparently the potential money laundering by some is frowned upon.

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]