Deutsche Bank lets workers go in U.S., elsewhere

Deutsche Bank began firing thousands of employees in the United States, Asia and Europe on Monday, moving quickly on at least one part of a strategy meant to arrest years of losses.

The job cuts, which came hours after the bank announced a “radical” turnaround plan, were a show of decisiveness at the expense of workers and a tacit answer to the question most asked by analysts and investors Monday: Deutsche Bank’s plan looks good on paper, but can managers pull it off ?

Christian Sewing, Deutsche Bank’s CEO, acknowledged Monday that the bank had failed in the past to follow through on promises to change. As a result, Deutsche Bank lost money in four of the past five years and will probably report a loss for 2019.

“Some may say you have heard this before,” Sewing said during a conference call. “It is different this time.”

Investors appeared unconvinced. Deutsche Bank shares opened higher in trading in Frankfurt but then gave up the gains and were down around 6 percent at the market’s close.

Many elements of the bank’s turnaround plan will take months or even years to put in place, including an effort to sequester high-risk assets in a separate unit where they will be sold or retired.

Although Sewing declined Monday to detail how the cuts, which will ultimately total 18,000 worldwide, would be distributed, they are most likely to be concentrated in New York and London and in places such as Singapore, where Deutsche Bank has large investment-banking operations.

Layoff announcements were made to at least two groups at the bank’s U.S. headquarters in lower Manhattan.