WestLB Cuts 900 Jobs in Redundancy Plan

WestLB, Germany’s fifth biggest bank, is doubling its redundancy program in an attempt to return to profit by cutting a further 900 jobs. The group announced earlier this year that it aimed to reduce costs by €500 million ($562.2 million) a year while employee numbers would fall to 6,200 from 8,000 by the end of 2005. Half of those 1,800 cuts were announced in August. The bank's supervisory board met in Düsseldorf on Tuesday to discuss the strategy as it seeks to stem losses and tighten up risk management procedures recently criticized by German financial regulator BaFin. WestLB said on Wednesday that it was "reviewing its non-core shareholdings," raising questions over the future of its Principle Finance Unit and its WestLB Panmure unit. WestLB confirmed in the same statement that a sale of Panmure is "an option under consideration."