Saturday, 20 April 2024
As profitability sags, Mizuho considers 30% cut to workforce - source
Mizuho Financial Group Inc is considering cutting its global workforce by a third in the next decade to stem a decline in profitability due to prolonged low interest rates in Japan, a person with knowledge of the issue told Reuters.
Japan’s second largest banking group by holdings plans to cut around 19,000 jobs from 60,000 at the moment by increasing its use of information technology to streamline operations at its core units - Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Trust and Banking Co. and Mizuho Securities Co., while also consolidating branches.
Mizuho aims to flesh out the plan from next week, and announce details when it releases its latest earnings next month, according to the source, who was not authorised to comment on the issue.
The mega bank, formed in 2000 by the merger of three smaller banks, has struggled to increase profits since the global financial crisis, as rock-bottom interest rates in Japan have stymied growth in its investments. Net profit slumped 10 percent last year.
Mizuho is looking to cut staff through means including attrition, the source said, as tellers and permanent employees who joined during a hiring spree in the 1980s approach retirement age.
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker from Reuters
