Commerzbank is planning drastic job cuts: 3,900 jobs at risk!

Commerzbank plans to cut a total of 3,900 full-time positions by 2028. The company announced this after achieving record profits of around 2.7 billion euros in 2024. Of the jobs to be cut, 3,300 are in Germany, particularly in Frankfurt. The central administration, staff functions and the back office are particularly affected, while Commerzbank currently employs around 20,000 full-time employees in Germany. The job cuts should be made socially acceptable, including through natural fluctuation and a partial retirement program that will be introduced in cooperation with employee representatives. The global workforce is expected to remain constant at around 36,700 full-time employees.

The pressure on Commerzbank is increasing from the Italian bank Unicredit, which controls 28 percent of the shares in Commerzbank. Although Unicredit has not yet made a takeover offer, it would have to make such an offer if it increased its stake to over 30 percent. The board of Commerzbank expects profits to fall to 2.4 billion euros in 2025, which is due, among other things, to costs of around 700 million euros for job cuts. In order to achieve its long-term financial goals, Commerzbank plans to increase its annual surplus to 4.2 billion euros by 2028.

Strategic adjustments and further plans

In addition to the staff cuts, Commerzbank wants to increase efficiency and profitability in order to convince its shareholders of the new strategy. The cost-income ratio is to be reduced from the current 59 percent to 54 percent by 2027. Around 10,000 jobs have already been cut in recent years and the current workforce is around 39,000 employees. The job cuts could primarily take place in Germany, while at the same time IT jobs could be created in countries such as the Czech Republic and Poland.

The chairman of the supervisory board, Jens Weidmann, expressed concerns about a possible takeover by Unicredit, which he believes could be detrimental to Germany's financial sovereignty and the attractiveness of Frankfurt as a financial center. Unicredit may be planning a merger with HypoVereinsbank and is in discussions with banking regulators to increase its stake in Commerzbank. However, the board of Commerzbank warns of high implementation risks in a possible takeover and sees the future of the company in the hands of its shareholders, who will decide on the further strategy hessenschau.de reported. Additionally clarified nzz.ch that Commerzbank wants to reposition itself in the face of competition from Unicredit.