Deutsche Bank said it is “too early” to determine how it’s $8.3 billion global restructuring plan, which will include cutting 18,000 jobs, will impact its operations in the Middle East.
Germany’s biggest bank on Sunday announced it was exiting its equities sales and trading business and reducing its fixed income operations, in order to focus on its core areas, including corporate banking, financing, foreign exchange, private banking and asset management.
As a result, the bank began laying off staff on Monday, with Reuters reporting that it plans to cut 18,000 of its 91,500 global workforce in a bid to cut costs and return the bank to the black.
Ahead of the official release of its second quarter results on July 24, the bank said on Sunday it is expecting to report a Q2 loss before income taxes of approximately €500 million ($560 million) and a net loss of €2.8 billion.
Media around the world reported that from Sydney to London and New York hundreds of staff were told of their fate and informed of their severance terms.
A UAE-based spokesperson told Arabian Business “it is too early” to comment on how the job cuts would impact the Middle East operations and that the bank would not be disclosing a regional breakdown of job losses.
The restructuring is part of the bank’s $8.3 billion plan to turn its fortunes around, but ratings agency Fitch on Monday was sceptical as to how successful this would be in light of the major job cuts.
“The restructuring measures involve large staff cuts and significant leadership changes, which could disrupt the aim to improve core earnings,” Fitch said in a note published Monday.
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