Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S fifth-largest bank, Unicaja, has reached a deal to cut up to 1,513 jobs and close a quarter of its branches.
The bank announced cost-cutting plans in October and the main union at the bank, the CCOO, says it has thrashed out an agreement which needs to be ratified before December 7.
A strike scheduled to take place this Friday was called off at the last minute after all-night discussions.
Walkouts and protests have taken place in recent weeks.
Unicaja Banco is expected to save around €200 million.
In a statement, the CCOO said that it ‘welcomes the accord that guarantees voluntary and paid departures, protects the under 50s in the workforce, improves severance pay, and provides alternatives to forced mobility’.
The bank currently employs 9,677 people.
There has been official comment from Unicaja and there are no details as to which branches will close.
It’s been estimated that up to 400 branches are threatened out of its 1,371 network.
The Malaga-based Unicaja took over Liberbank in July.
It has over 4.5 million customers with assets of around €113 billion.
Unicaja’s cuts are similar to measures taken by other Spanish banks in the last two years.
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