Spanish lender Santander is planning to shutter 1,150 branches and cut more than 3,700 jobs in the country as a part of its cost reduction strategy.
The bank informed the unions about the latest redundancy, which represents nearly 11% of its total workforce in the country.
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Most of the jobs will be axed from its retail branch network and some from central offices, reported Bloomberg.
The CCOO union, which represents the bank workers, expressed deep concern over the move. The union in a statement that it will work with the bank to reduce the figures.
However, Santander declined to comment on the move.
Santander job cuts: Background
The latest measures are part of the Spanish lender’s plan to reduce annual costs by €1.2bn. Santander also seeks to increase profitability in Latin America, while reducing costs in Europe.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the March quarterly report, Santander had 4,366 branches and 32,366 employees in Spain.
The bank aims to achieve of €250m in additional savings in Spain through its integration with Banco Popular. Santander bought struggling domestic rival Banco Popular in 2017.
Neither the Spanish lender nor the union provide any time frame for the job cuts.
Previously, Santander’s CEO Jose Antonio Alvarez said that it aims to complete all job cuts associated with its integration with Banco Popular this year.
Recently, another Spanish lender Caixabank also announced plan to reduce its domestic workforce by 6%. It also said to have earmarked up to €890m for associated expenses.
