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.
Financial Services Financial And Insurance Activities Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding 64 - Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding
1,557 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
29 April 2015
Employment effect (start)
1 January 2016
Foreseen end date
Description
Spanish Bank BBVVA plans to dismiss 1,600 employees following the acquisition of the Spanish bank Catalunya Banc. Shortly after the acquisition had been confirmed, BBVVA announced the closure of 20% of Catalunya Banc's branches with the dismissal of 20% of its total workforce.
The labour force adjustment will be implemented over the next three years. As of April 2015, there is no information on the timeline of the job cuts. Negotiations between the company management and the trade unions have not started yet and no information about compensatory measures (severance pay, etc.) to be offered to the affected employees has been so far released.
Updated 12-06-2015: The bank has announced that the number of workers affected by the dismissals will be 2,000. The bank has also announced the intention to implement the job cuts through early retirements, voluntary redundancies and relocations to other companies within the group. Discussions with the trade unions will start shortly.
Updated 24-09-2015: On the 31st of July the company and the trade unions agreed to reduce the number of workers dismissed from 2000 to 1557. A total of 1,066 employees at Spanish bank, CatalunyaBanc, have volunteered to take part in its labour force adjustment plan. Moreover, 400 employees will be relocated and 91 will be dismissed. The plan will be implemented at the beginning of 2016
Sources
29 April 2015: La Vanguardia
30 May 2015: El País
11 June 2015: ABC
23 September 2015: Cinco Días
Citation
Eurofound (2015), BBVA, Merger/Acquisition in Spain, factsheet number 83619, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/83619.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
