Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
CaixaBank, one of the largest Spanish banks, has announced a collective redundancy plan that will affect 8,291 employees (18.7% of the workforce). The job cuts are a consequence of Caixabank's merger with Bankia. It is the largest collective redundancy in the history of Spanish banking and the third largest in the Spanish private sector after Telefónica and Seat. The collective lay-off will mainly affect branch staff, as more than 1,500 branches will be closed, 27% of the total network.
The areas most affected by the redundancies will be Madrid (1,511), Barcelona (595), Valencia (528), Murcia (410), Balearic Islands (358), Las Palmas (293), Alicante (253), Granada (279), Seville (237) and Cadiz (125), among others. The management argues that the merger created duplications, so adjustments are necessary. In addition to that, the existence of negative interest rates since 2016 (which reduces the banks' profits) and the digitalization of customer services (which reduces the need to maintain part of the branches) also justify the adjustment. However, Caixabank has announced that it will report a profit in 2021.
The Spanish government has regretted the announcement. Similarly, CCOO and UGT unions have expressed their opposition to CaixaBank's job cuts. For CCOO, this proposal is a provocation, as it entails very low conditions for severance payments. UGT stresses that the proposed cost savings fall only on the workforce. The negotiation of this adjustment coincides with the pay rise for Caixabank board members. In the case of the new president of Caixabank, the remuneration will triple (from €500,000 to €1.65 million). For the unions, this is 'absolutely incongruent' with the cuts in staff and conditions that the bank has put on the table.
Update 5/10/2021:
CaixaBank has completed the first phase of its collective redundancy plan with the acceptance of 5937 applications for voluntary redundancies. Unions and the company agreed on a maximum number of 6452 affected employees. In any case, the second phase of the voluntary redundancy process begins with an excess of applications in 32 provinces. That means that 2070 applications will not be accepted, which may imply there will be non-voluntary redundancies. This second phase will conclude with the dismissal of the first 1233 workers on 30 November and the closure of 500 offices on 7 December.
Eurofound (2021), Caixabank, Merger/Acquisition in Spain, factsheet number 104798, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/104798.
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