The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Financial Services Financial And Insurance Activities Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding 64.1 - Monetary intermediation
3,572 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
10 December 2020
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date
Description
Banco Santander, the Spanish multinational commercial bank and financial services company, has agreed a collective redundancy plan with the unions (CCOO, UGT, FITC and STS) affecting 3,572 employees (reducing the initial 5,072 affected), through voluntary redundancies or early retirement. Another 1,500 employees will be relocated to other companies of the group. The company will also close 1,033 offices in Spain. This collective layoff plan is part of its announced restructuring plan at European level; reasons behind the decision are the need to digitalise operations and the impact of COVID-19.
The conditions for compensation for employees 50 years old or older vary depending on voluntary leaves or early retirements and according to age group. For example, compensatory payments of 65% of salary for six years with a maximum of 320,000 euros for voluntary leaves of workers aged 50-54 with more than 15 years of seniority. Those under 50 years old with any length of service will receive an allowance of 40 days of gross annual salary with a maximum of 24 monthly payments. Unions consider that the compensation packages are sufficient and worthy of previous processes and that they will reduce the impact of the restructuring.
Update 15/02/2022: Banco Santander has announced the full implementation of its adjustment plan whereby 3572 employees have voluntarily left the company and 1000 branches were closed. In addition, the unions report that another 213 people have voluntarily left the company regardless of the adjustment plan.
Sources
15 December 2020: https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2020/12/15/companias/1608037001_340924.html (cincodias.elpais.com)
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
