Smaller Deutsche slashes jobs in US

Deutsche Bank is cutting dozens of employees and consolidating space at its Chicago office as part of a broader plan to shrink US operations, according to people briefed on the matter.

The lender’s Chicago office — which houses units including front-office trading, operations and the treasury — will be reducing headcount, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing staff matters. Some operations staff were being offered the choice of losing their jobs or relocating to Jacksonville, Florida, they said.

Troy Gravitt, a spokesman for the bank, declined to comment on the firm’s plans for the office.

Operations functions hosted there include those for listed derivatives and supporting trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade. Corporate finance and corporate banking teams have not been affected by the cuts and will maintain a sizeable presence in the city.

Earlier in 2018, Deutsche Bank said it would scale back its US operations, as new CEO Christian Sewing tries to retrench after years of scandal and poor performance. The bank has considered cutting as many as 20% of its US employees, and is planning to reduce its rates sales and trading business in the region.

The firm told staff in May it was shutting its Houston office and was moving its New York headquarters from Wall Street to Midtown, slashing its footprint in the city by 30%.

One senior executive said at the time that the firm still viewed its presence in New York, San Francisco and Chicago as indispensable for its corporatefinance units. / Bloomberg

SOME OPERATIONS STAFF ARE BEING OFFERED THE CHOICE OF LOSING THEIR JOBS OR RELOCATING TO FLORIDA