Deutsche Bank is reportedly planning to cut a further 2,000 jobs.

The move comes after the bank said it would axe 3,500 roles in early 2024 as part of its € 2.5 billion cost-saving operational efficiency programme.

The initiative saved the bank € 1.3 billion in 2023.

A report by The Financial Times (FT) reveals that the layoffs will take place across its retail division.

According to the newspaper, on Wednesday chief executive Christian Sewing said that the bank will close a “significant number” of branches in 2025 and increase the pace of job cuts in a bid to boost returns.

“Where we have to turn around the ship in terms of profitability is clearly the retail bank in Germany,” said the chief executive at a Morgan Stanley conference.

He went on to say that the bank plans to hike the retail department’s equity to the “mid-teens” over the coming 18 months to two years, representing a five per cent increase compared to the end of 2024.

A person familiar with the matter told the FT that the latest job cuts will predominantly impact its German workforce across both front and back office roles.

Research published in January showed that banks around the world are set to cut 200,000 roles in the next three to five years due to AI taking over tasks currently done by humans.

Following a study of chief information and technology officers, the data research arm of Bloomberg said that by 2030 executives expect a net three per cent of their employees to be axed.

The research also found that back and middle office roles, as well as those working in operations, are most at risk.

It follows a survey by the Bank of England published in November last year which found that 75 per cent of financial services companies are already using AI, with a further 10 per cent planning to use the technology over the next three years.

The results demonstrated a significant hike on the 58 per cent of firms using AI in 2022.

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