ARCHIVED - BBVA bank modifies mass redundancy plans to save 850 jobs

The bank still proposes laying off almost 3,000 staff and closing 530 branches throughout Spain

The challenges facing major banks in Spain as the country begins to emerge from the pandemic have led both BBVA and Caixa Bank to announces major staff reduction programs, but the former have now amended their proposals under pressure from trades unions to reduce the number of redundancies by over 22 per cent.

In April the bank had announced plans to lay off a total of 3,798 employees among the 23,300-strong workforce, at the same time closing 530 branches, citing changes in production and organization caused by digital transformation as the main reason. The branches to be closed include 204 in Catalunya, 101 in Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha, 76 in Andalucía, Extremadura, Ceuta and Melilla, and 35 in Valencia, the Balearics and the Region of Murcia.

However, the trades union CCOO, opposed the proposal and considered the figures suggested by BBVA to be “scandalous” and “unsustainable”, and the number of people set to lose their jobs has now been reduced to 2,935, including 2,177 in branches and 758 in central offices. This follows limited strike action on Wednesday throughout Spain, according to the CCOO union, who will now analyse the new cuts to determine whether in their view they are reasonable.

With negotiations set to end on Friday the UGT union is still demanding that 50 branch offices be saved from the cutbacks, and although other details are still to be ironed out it appears that at least 850 jobs have been saved by the unions’ intervention since the BBVA announced its plans.