Danske Bank to slash 1,600 jobs in the next twelve months

On Thursday, Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO) announced that it would cut 1,600 jobs in the next six to twelve months as part of a cost-reduction program that would run until 2023.

Denmark’s largest bank stated that it was trying to get costs and compliance under control while it had already warned of further layoffs four months ago. The firm added that at least 1,000 workers had already left the bank since June 2019.

“We need to adapt to the structural changes that the financial sector is experiencing, and to remain competitive in a low-margin and highly competitive market, we simply have to reduce our costs,” Danske Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Vogelzang said in an interview.

“Together with the existing hiring freeze, we hope that it can help reduce the number of actual layoffs at a later time,” Danske Bank’s Human Resource Head Karsten Breum stated.

Danske’s shares went up by 0.75% in the morning trade.