Spanish lender Santander is reportedly planning to axe 14% of its total workforce and close one-third of its branches in its home market.

The bank is planning to slash 4,000 positions and permanently shutter up to 1,000 branches that represent 32% of its total branches in Spain, Reuters reported.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

An additional 1,000 employees will also move to different roles within the bank’s branches.

Santander employed 28,797 people and had 3,110 branches across the country at the end of September 2020, the report added citing sources familiar with the matter.

The latest move is part of its cost-cutting measures to cope with the economic distress brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moreover, its customers are also increasingly moving towards online banking.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

This year, Santander has done nearly half of its sales on digital channels, due to the pandemic.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the bank’s branch network is said to have nearly halved.

Furthermore, the transactions done in branches could also be halved in the next two years, according to one of the sources.

Earlier this month, in a bid to digitise back-office functions as part of a transformation plan, Santander put a total of 334 jobs at risk across the UK.

Last month, the bank earmarked cost savings of €1bn in Europe by 2022 and planned headcount reduction in Britain, Spain, Portugal, and Poland, the Reuters report added.

Another Spanish lender Banco Sabadell is also reportedly planning to slash up to 2,000 jobs in Spain next year, as part of its digitisation plans.