While other banks hold fire on restructuring plans, Italy's UniCredit has agreed terms with labour unions over plans to chop 5200 full-time roles over the next four years and recruit 2600 new staff to digitally upskill the workforce.
The Italian lender confirmed plans in February to lose 450 branches and cut 6000 jobs as part of its 'Team 23' strategic programme aimed at increasing net profit to EUR5 billion by 2023.
In the next four years, 5,200 staff will be offered a voluntary pre-retirement plan with access to the financial sector solidary fund. In line with the shift to digital, 800 will be retrained to take on new positions.
As part of the agreement, Unicredit also commits to hiring 2,600 people over the next four years and to convert 900 apprenticeships into standard employment contracts to increase job security.
The bank is also investing in two new client contact and back office centres in Southern Italy.