Commerzbank intends to defend itself against a hostile takeover bid by UniCredit through job cuts and higher profit targets. On Friday, the Frankfurt-based bank announced the elimination of a further 3,000 jobs by 2030 and raised its business targets for that period. Lower costs and higher profits are driving up the share price, thereby making a potential takeover more expensive. Employee representatives support the bank in this strategic course.
Since late 2024, UniCredit has been acquiring shares in Commerzbank on a large scale and is seeking a takeover. This Tuesday, it officially submitted an exchange offer to Commerzbank shareholders. The stated objective of the offer—which is widely regarded as not particularly attractive—is to initially increase the Italian bank’s stake in Commerzbank to over 30 percent. To date, UniCredit holds approximately 25 percent of Commerzbank’s shares.
The Frankfurt-based bank rejects the takeover and is banking on ambitious business targets to persuade its shareholders not to divest their holdings. In its quarterly report, it once again pointed out that UniCredit is offering Commerzbank shareholders no premium, and characterized the plans for a shared future presented by the Italian bank as “vague” and high-risk.
For the current financial year, Commerzbank raised its earnings forecast from 3.2 to 3.4 billion euros. For 2025, the figure stood at 2.6 billion euros. By 2028, earnings are projected to reach 4.6 billion euros, and by 2030, nearly six billion euros. “The bank’s ongoing transformation is accompanied by a group-wide reduction of a further 3,000 jobs (gross),” the statement added. Commerzbank currently employs 38,000 people.
Group CEO Bettina Orlopp sees her company firmly on track. “We have started the year with record-level results,” she stated. “This proves that our strategy works—and holds even greater potential than originally planned.” The targets set for 2030 now reflect this. “Any alternative must be measured against this standard.”
Employee representatives are backing the management team despite the job cuts. “The union continues to support an independent Commerzbank,” declared the service sector union Verdi. In light of the job cuts, Verdi and Commerzbank’s Group Works Council “promptly entered into negotiations with corporate management and successfully agreed upon key protective measures for the workforce.”
Accordingly, redundancies for operational reasons have been “de facto” ruled out, and “fair and attractive programs for voluntary departures” have been agreed upon. “Commerzbank’s strategy will only succeed if it is socially safeguarded,” explained Kevin Voß, the Commerzbank liaison for the trade union Verdi. No one, he insisted, should “lose their job against their will.”
According to the quarterly report for the start of the year—presented on Friday—net profit rose by nine percent to 913 million euros, while revenue increased by five percent to 3.2 billion euros. Since February of last year, the bank had already cut 3,900 jobs.
The tone in the dispute regarding a potential takeover by UniCredit has recently become significantly sharper. The Italian bank criticized Commerzbank’s strategic plans. They also incurred a reprimand from Germany’s banking regulator, BaFin, over advertisements containing negative messages about the German bank. Commerzbank, in turn, accused UniCredit of employing “persistently hostile tactics and misleading representations.”
The Frankfurt-based bank is also receiving support from the federal government. On Thursday, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) once again sharply criticized UniCredit’s conduct. “We firmly reject hostile and aggressive behavior,” he stated at an event hosted by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce. “Such actions destroy trust; they do not foster new trust.”
The German state still holds a 12.1 percent stake in Commerzbank—a remnant of the 2008 bailout during the global financial crisis. In light of UniCredit’s takeover plans, the federal government had announced that it would not sell any further shares.
AFP translated by Blackout News