SocGen will implement the organisational changes after the completion of the consultation with staff representative bodies, which is scheduled for the second quarter of this year and will deploy all the support measures as part of its social pact
Societe Generale to cut 900 jobs in France. (Credit: Societe Generale)
French financial services company Societe Generale (SocGen) is set to cut around 900 jobs at its head office in France, as part of its strategic restructuring to improve its operations.
SocGen will implement the organisational changes after the completion of the consultation with staff representative bodies, which is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.
Also, the company is ready to deploy all the support measures as part of its social pact through internal transfers, end-of-year support or voluntary departures.
In September last year, SocGen presented the group’s strategic roadmap, which outlined a goal of gradually improving its cost/income ratio, achieving around €1.7bn in savings in 2026.
The target includes synergies from existing initiatives, such as the creation of the new retail bank in France, the digitalisation of Komerční banka and the integration of LeasePlan into Ayvens.
It also includes additional savings of around €700m from new projects across the group entities to simplify information systems, optimise purchasing processes, and simplify the organisation.
Societe Generale in its statement said: “This reorganisation project, which would represent a major step in achieving the additional savings envisaged, is being submitted today for consultation with the staff representative bodies.
“Following the completion of the consultation scheduled for the second quarter of 2024, the implementation of these organisational changes would result in approximately 900 job cuts at head office without forced departures (i.e. approximately 5% of head office staff).
“As a responsible employer, Societe Generale would deploy all the support measures as part of its social pact through internal transfers, end-of-year support or voluntary departures.”
The company said that several French head office entities are considering organisational changes that require specific social support measures.
The entities aim to pool certain activities and functions, eliminate hierarchical layers to simplify decision-making and resize certain teams as per the projects or processes.
Recently, Germany-based retail banking company Deutsche Bank announced plans to axe around 3,500 jobs in the coming two years.
In addition, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs announced job cuts, and Barclays confirmed that it has axed around 5,000 jobs from its global workforce of 84,000 last year.