Santander is planning to cut 4000 jobs and close up to 1000 branches in its home market of Spain, according to Reuters.
With the Covid-19 economic fallout hitting hard, the bank is reducing its Spanish workforce by around d 14% and its branch network by a third, says Reuters, citing sources. Another 100 employees are expected to move jobs.
In October, Santander warned that, despite returning to profit in the third quarter, it would look to make more cost savings.
The bank has seen an acceleration in the uptake of digital services since the pandemic hit, with almost half of sales in 2020 done via mobile and online channels.