Commerzbank aims for major job cuts, branch closures

Thousands of jobs, a fifth of its branches.

Commerzbank - Germany's number two lender - closed out Friday (September 20) with a dramatic heads up on what's likely to be cut as part of a strategy overhaul.

No final decision has been made yet - the supervisory board will discuss the measures next week.

But the bank said it would cut 4,300 jobs in some places - over 10% of its workforce, while adding 2,000 in "strategic areas."

A sale of its stake in Polish subsidiary mBank - also planned - would shed a further 6,600.

It aims to trim its 1,000 branches to 800 or so.

Commerzbank has struggled to make profits and a merger attempt with Germany's biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, failed earlier this year.

But there is investment planned, too: 1.6 billion euros - around $1.8 billion - for restructuring and new tech.

The sale of its mBank stake could raise around $2.2 billion.