Spanish banking major BBVA is reportedly planning to lay off approximately 3,000 employees, or 10% of its total staff, as customesr continue to shift to digital banking platforms.
BBVA currently has around 29,000 employees in Spain and around 123,0000 globally.
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This move follows the bank’s CEO Onur Genc comments about possible cost-cutting measures in low growth markets and a “fast restructuring program” in Spain during the first half of 2021.
BBVA union Comisiones Obreras’s spokeswoman said that no meeting or negotiation with the bank on potential job cuts had started yet.
The net profit of BBVA for the fourth quarter has plunged 48% compared to the same quarter of 2019.
Covid-19 pandemic and current low-interest rates have pushed European and Spanish lenders to take alternative cost-cutting measures, including mergers and standalone measures such as cutting down branches or staff.
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By GlobalDataOther Spanish lenders have also taken similar measures to deal with loan losses and digital banking penetration.
Last year, BBVA’s local rival Santander announced plans to cut around 36,000 jobs and trim 30% of branches in the country.
The planned merged of Spain’s third-largest bank CaixaBank with Bankia, which expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2021, is also expected to result in job cuts.
Similarly, UK lender Lloyds Banking Group also said it would reduce its office space by 20% over the next three years as part of cost-cutting measures.
