Danske Bank has instituted a hiring freeze amid a cost-cutting programme that will see the loss of 1600 jobs.
As part of a two-year strategic overhaul, the bank is now offering employees in most departments in Denmark the option of applying for a voluntary redundancy agreement.
CEO Chris Vogelzang, says: “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 currently employs more than 22,000 people in total, up from almost 20,000 at the end of 2017, of which about 11,000 are employed in Denmark.
Part of the reduction is expected to be achieved through voluntary redundancy agreements and natural attrition.
HR lead Karsten Breum says: "Together with the existing hiring freeze, we hope that it can help reduce the number of actual layoffs at a later time."
News of the job reduction programme comes as the bank introduces a new leadership team and streamlined corporate structure that will see the creation of two business units - Personal & Business Customers and Large Corporates & Institutions - which will take effect from January 2021.