MUFG Bank, part of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is planning to shed another 2000 jobs by fiscal 2023 as the bank seeks to ramp up digitisation efforts, the Yomiuri daily reported.
Initially, in November 2017, the Japanese lender aimed to slash 6,000 jobs through natural attrition by 2023.
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However, as the bank struggles to maintain profits, it plans to reduce the staff level by another 2000 people.
The latest move comes amidst the Bank of Japan’s prolonged monetary easing policy, which has squeezed profitability in the banking sector.
MUFG had a workforce of 40,000 people as of 2017. The additional redundancies will cut its workforce by 20%.
The new redundancies will result from a reduction in new recruits while existing employees are set to reach the mandatory retirement age in coming years, the report added.
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By GlobalDataA spokeswoman for MUFG said: “It’s true the number of staff reductions has been progressing more than the initial plan.”
Moreover, the bank now reportedly plans to slash the number of its branches offering full banking services to about one-third, instead of the previous strategy of trimming the size by half.
The current plan included closure of 35% of its 515 fully-operational branches by the end of March 2024.
MUFG’s net interest income for the nine months through December fell 4.7% year-on-year to JPY1.38trn ($12.87bn), driven by weak traditional lending business.
