Shares in Deutsche Bank tumble 6pc as group announce 7,000 job cuts

Deutsche Bank (ETR: DBK) has announced plans to cut over 7,000 jobs as the lender hopes to return to profit.

Germany’s biggest lender has not provided a breakdown but the global workforce is expected to fall from 97,000 to “well below 90,000″.

“We remain committed to our corporate and investment bank and our international presence – we are unwavering in that,” said the group’s new chief executive, Christian Sewing.

“We are Europe’s alternative in the international financing and capital markets business. However, we must concentrate on what we truly do well.”

After three consecutive years of losses, the bank is scaling back its global investment bank and refocus on Europe. One in four equities sales and trading jobs are going to be axed.

Sewing replaced his predecessor in April and promised to make “tough decisions” so the bank could return to profitability.

“The priority is to leverage our strengths and to allocate our investments accordingly. And at the same time, we will look to free up capacity for growth by pulling back from those areas where we are not sufficiently profitable,” he told staff in a letter published on the lender’s website. 

John Cryan was sacked from the bank and the search for his replacement began after the bank reported an annual loss of €500 million (£438 million) at the end of February.

The announcement of the large-scale job cuts came head of Deutsche Bank’s annual shareholder meeting.

The bank’s chairman, Paul Achleitner, said that while Cryan had “set the ball rolling” on reform, he had also displayed “shortcomings in decision-making and implementation”.

“You are right to expect the bank and its management to hit the targets it has set itself. If there are signs those targets are in jeopardy… then we on the supervisory board have to act swiftly and decisively,” he said.

News of the cuts led to shares in Deutsche Bank tumbling almost six percent on Thursday.