Staff at Deutsche Bank’s London office were told to clear their desks by 11am today after the struggling German firm revealed it would cut 18,000 jobs globally by 2022.
Tearful workers were told to pack up their belongings just hours after the major restructuring was announced by the firm, which employs 8,000 people in the UK.
In some cases, staff were told that their building passes would be deactivated by the afternoon, with some seen crying as they left the office with boxes and bags.
Other employees were pictured on the steps of the office taking in a huge delivery of about 15 pizzas at lunchtime from a motorcyclist.
A man carries a box as leaves from the offices of German bank Deutsche Bank in London today
A man leaves the Deutsche Bank building in Central London with some belongings today
Yesterday, the Frankfurt-headquartered bank said the mass layoffs would reduce its annual costs by £5.4billion.
The 91,500 employees are set to be cut by just over 20 per cent, to 74,000, in an unprecedented round of departures for Deutsche.
Employees in London were expected to find out more about their fates today, with several seen leaving the office building this morning carrying large bags.
Deutsche Bank has not said how many of the 7,000 staff in London will lose their jobs.
Sources have estimated it could be as many as 3,200, while an IT contractor at the London Wall office said 100 people had been made redundant from a single floor.
The Telegraph’s banking editor Lucy Burton wrote on Twitter today: ‘Some Deutsche Bank staff in London told they have until 11am to pack up their stuff, just hours after the overhaul was announced.
A staff member takes in pizza boxes at the London office of Deutsche Bank at lunchtime today
A staff member receives a pizza delivery as Deutsche Bank confirmed plans to cut 18,000 jobs
”I’m trying to get my head straight,’ says one person who has been told his pass will stop working in a few hours.’
Meanwhile, an equities professional at the firm’s New York office told eFinancial News: ‘9.30am is when most people in my division have been asked to report to the auditorium to be fired.’
The Guardian reported how 100 people had been made redundant on the fourth floor while some members of staff were seen leaving the office in tears.
The cut backs from the bank – which paid billions in fines and settlements after the 2008 financial crash – comes after concerns the UK economy is at a standstill.
Data firm Markit’s PMI tracks the private sector and reported shrinking business activity in June.
Chris Williamson, economist at IHS Markit, told The Financial Times: ‘The latest downturn differs from that seen in 2016 as it has followed a gradual weakening in the rate of economic growth rather than being a sudden and brief collapse in output after the ‘shock’ referendum result.’
People walk outside the London office of Deutsche Bank which has confirmed plans to cut jobs
Deutsche Bank said today that it would drop its stock sales and trading unit as part of a plan to exit more volatile investment banking activities.
It said it would cut roughly a quarter of its total cost base through steps such as dropping the investment bank’s stock-trading business.
It would also slim down its division focused on fixed-income investments.
The bank would not say where the cuts would fall, but many of its investment banking activities are carried out in Wall Street and London.
People walk past a Deutsche Bank office in London this morning following news of job losses
It will also slim down its division focused on fixed-income investments. By doing that, the bank is to focus on areas with steadier earnings such as serving corporate customers.
The bank would also create a separate unit to dispose of investments that are less profitable or no longer fit its strategy.
The bank said it did not expect to have to raise additional capital from shareholders.
Christian Sewing, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank, said: ‘Today we have announced the most fundamental transformation of Deutsche Bank in decades.
‘We are tackling what is necessary to unleash our true potential: our business model, costs, capital and the management team.
‘We are building on our strengths. This is a restart for Deutsche Bank – for the long-term benefit of our clients, employees, investors and society.’
The move follows the failure of merger talks with German rival Commerzbank.
Deutsche Bank said the combination would not make business sense, but that left open the question of what strategy the bank could pursue to make its business leaner and more profitable.
For years, Deutsche Bank has struggled with regulatory penalties and fines, weak profits, high costs and a falling share price.
The bank went three straight years without turning an annual profit before recording positive earnings for 2018.
A man walks into a Deutsche Bank office in London, where staff were today told to clear their desks
CEO Christian Sewing took over last year and promised faster restructuring after predecessor John Cryan was perceived to have moved too slowly to restructure the bank.
The bank paid billions in fines and settlements related to behavior before and after the global financial crisis, including a $7.2 billion settlement in 2017 with the Justice Department over selling bonds based on mortgages to people with shaky credit.
But that hasn’t ended the negative headlines. Two congressional committees have subpoenaed Deutsche Bank documents as part their investigations into President Donald Trump and his company.
Deutsche Bank was one of the few banks willing to lend to Trump after a series of corporate bankruptcies and defaults starting in the early 1990s.
Trump had sued Deutsche Bank to stop the subpoenas, but a judge in May ruled against the president.