Commerzbank to Slash More Jobs
November 11, 2002As beleaguered German bank Commerzbank prepared to release its third-quarter results on Tuesday, banking sources told news agencies the company is expected to announce pre-tax losses of 130 million euro ($131 million). Revenue fell far short of the expectations of analysts, who had forecast a pre-tax profit of roughly 62 million euro. On Monday, the company has also announced plans to slash more than 1,500 jobs.
The Frankfurt-based company has already eliminated 4,300 positions, and officials said the new measures were part of an attempt to reduce Commerzbank's costs by a further 500 million euro, bringing the total savings package to 5 billion euro.
A Commerzbank spokesman told German news agency DPA the cost-cutting exercise would not be possible without layoffs. Most of the cuts are planned for the bank’s head office and from its investment banking and foreign divisions - especially in the United States and Asia.