Deutsche Bank is restructuring expenses aimed at investing in technology, reducing overall headcount and exiting certain business lines.

The $1.3 trillion bank is looking to drive efficiencies and reduce operating costs, Chief Executive Christian Sewing said during the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 30. 

The bank hired 1,300 tech specialists, while eliminating 1,800 contractors and cutting headcount by nearly 3,500 employees in 2024, according to the company’s Q4 earnings report.

The reductions are a “part of our longstanding drive to internalize talent,” a Deutsche Bank spokesperson told Bank Automation News. “This means we reduce our dependence on external staff and develop internal talent, thus retaining expertise and knowledge in-house.” 

The bank reported 89,753 employees in Q4, down 1% year over year, according to the earnings report. 

The Frankfurt, Germany-based bank is building engineering expertise across technology disciplines, with a focus on cloud, data and AI, the spokesperson said. The bank is attracting high-level talent due to its ambitious tech projects, its status as one of the biggest financial entities in Europe and its works with tech giants like Google. 

Ongoing restructuring

The bank announced in 2022 that it would undertake a multiyear restructuring program deploying technology to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Investments to simplify bank interactions by improving technology and optimizing the workforce will deliver 300 million euros ($309 million) in savings in 2025 in Germany alone, CEO Sewing said.

“We are planning a reduction [target] of 2.1 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in nonoperating costs this year [globally],” he added. The bank will also consider leaving unspecified business lines to grow profits, Sewing said.

The bank reported nonoperating costs of $20.4 billion in Q4, down 1% year over year.

“The business has made transformative efficiency gains since 2021, closing a further 125 branches in 2024, increasing the total to almost 400 [branch] closures since 2021,” Sewing said.

Editor’s note: All figures converted to USD. 

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