France’s Societe Generale confirms it will cut 1,600 jobs

The lender said it would revamp its global investment arm and streamline its international retail banking and financial services activities in a bid to ensure “profitable and sustainable growth”.

The cuts in France would be made “through a voluntary departure plan” while international layoffs would be “in accordance with local regulations and practices,” the lender said in a statement.

Under the plan, which was presented to French unions on Tuesday, the bank said it will close its “OTC commodities business and its proprietary trading subsidiary”.

Khalid Bel Hadaoui, a representative of France’s CFDT union, told AFP that “each year brings with it a number of job cuts”.

The news had been expected because Societe Generale had already unveiled a plan to reduce costs by around 500 million euros ($560 million) by 2020 to increase the profitability of its market activities.

Societe Generale reported higher-than-expected profits in 2018 but said it would adjust its targets and those of its investment bank as it anticipated financial headwinds ahead.

The bank has a global workforce of around 148,000.