Societe Generale set to cut 900 jobs

As part of its strategic roadmap, Societe Generale announced its objective to gradually and significantly improve its cost-to-income ratio, with plans to achieve approximately EUR 1.7 billion savings in 2026 compared to 2022. The previously mentioned amount includes synergies projected from initiatives already ongoing, including the development of the new retail bank in France, the digitalisation of activities at Komerční banka, and the integration of LeasePlan into Ayvens, among others. Additionally, the bank aims to obtain savings of around EUR 700 million from new projects introduced in all its entities to simplify information systems, optimise purchasing processes, and improve the overall organisation.

Within these circumstances, French head office entities take into consideration organisational modifications that require specific social support measures. Societe Generale’s announcement mentions that the objective is to merge and pool certain activities and functions, eliminate hierarchical layers to simplify decision-making, and resize certain teams due to reviews of projects or processes. Stated as a major component to achieving the additional savings, the reorganisation project is set to be submitted for consultation with the staff representative bodies. After the completion of the consultation, which is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023, the implementation of these organisational modifications is set to result in approximately 900 job cuts without forced departures. Societe Generale aims to deploy all the support measures as part of its social pact via internal transfers, end-of-year support, and voluntary departures.

Societe Generale is part of the global financial institutions that recently decided to minimise several jobs. At the beginning of February 2023, Deutsche Bank announced its plans to cut 3,500 jobs as part of its strategy to optimise efficiency and save costs. The German-based financial institutions aimed to simplify operations and automate work where allowed, with most jobs being reduced in the non-client-facing areas.

Furthermore, in January 2023, US-based Citigroup revealed its plans to cut 10% of its workforce as part of its intentions to improve its results and stock price. The financial institution announced the news via a presentation linked to its fourth-quarter earnings, stating that approximately 20,000 employees were set to be laid off over the medium term. Even if the specific duration was not defined, Citigroup historically leveraged this term to indicate a three- to five-year timeframe.

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