UniCredit Bank Austria / To cut up to 850 jobs

UniCredit Bank Austria will cut up to 850 jobs in Austria as part of a plan to slash 130 million euros ($176 million) in administrative costs, it said on Thursday, blaming rising state burdens in a saturated market.

Austria\’s bank levy delivers a 97 million euro annual hit and additional costs from new regulatory requirements add up to another 270 million a year, it said, prompting it to chop overall spending and cut staff costs by 70 million euros.

“One can clearly see that the bank levy is at the expense of jobs,” Chief Executive Willibald Cernko said in a statement, adding the only other options would be to pass costs on to customers or restrict lending.

Bank Austria said it aimed to achieve the targets without forced layoffs by not filling vacant positions and by adopting part-time working models. Back-office units will take the brunt of the cuts that will reduce staff in Austria to around 9,000.

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via UPDATE 1-Bank Austria says to cut up to 850 jobs in Austria | Reuters.