Commerzbank plans to cut 3,000 jobs and ramp up investments in artificial intelligence as Germany’s second-largest listed lender sharpens its defence against a takeover attempt by Italy’s UniCredit.
The Frankfurt-based bank said on Friday the layoffs would support a more ambitious profitability plan under its “Momentum 2030” strategy, unveiled days after UniCredit formally launched a cross-border bid valued at about 37 billion euros.
The latest cuts mark the third major restructuring round at Commerzbank in recent years. Earlier this decade, the bank eliminated around 10,000 positions, roughly a third of its German workforce, and last year announced another 3,900 job reductions.
The escalating battle has become one of Europe’s most closely watched banking standoffs, pitching UniCredit chief executive Andrea Orcel and his expansion ambitions against a lender widely seen as critical to financing Germany’s export-driven economy.
“UniCredit’s communicated plan remains vague and bears considerable execution risks, while using misleading narratives that discredit Commerzbank,” the bank said in a sharply worded statement.
Commerzbank also warned that the latest restructuring would result in around 450 million euros in costs as it reshapes operations and accelerates automation.
At the centre of the strategy is a sweeping AI-driven efficiency push aimed at lowering costs, improving productivity and boosting revenues. The lender said it plans cumulative AI investments of around 600 million euros between 2026 and 2030, targeting a 70 per cent reduction in some operating costs, a 20 per cent revenue uplift and improved risk controls.
The bank said AI is already being deployed across customer service, fraud prevention, compliance and software development.
Its virtual retail banking assistant “Ava” now handles around 30,000 customer inquiries a month, with more than 70 per cent resolved autonomously. Internally, Commerzbank’s “CobaGPT” large language model is reportedly used by more than 14,500 employees, generating over 7.5 million prompts.
Other AI-led initiatives include automated Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, AI-supported pricing tools for loans and deposits, fraud detection systems, and agentic AI applications designed to reduce transaction monitoring times by as much as 60 per cent.
The bank said it expects AI-enabled workplace efficiencies to free up roughly 10 per cent of organisational capacity, some of which would be redeployed into growth initiatives rather than eliminated outright.
Commerzbank is also increasing the use of digital product offerings, advanced analytics and AI-based sales models to improve productivity and value-based pricing. Its strategy includes reducing reliance on external resources, redesigning processes and integrating AI “as an integral part of the whole organisation”.
The restructuring comes as European banks face mounting pressure to modernise operations while defending margins amid slowing economic growth and intensifying competition from larger cross-border rivals.
Despite the job cuts, Commerzbank posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. Net profit rose 9.4 per cent year-on-year to 913 million euros, ahead of analyst expectations of 868 million euros.
The latest overhaul has revived memories of the abandoned 2019 merger discussions between Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, which had sparked fears of up to 30,000 job losses across Germany’s banking sector.
At the time, labour unions fiercely opposed the deal, warning that cost synergies would come at the expense of thousands of employees. German union representative Jan Duscheck had warned that 10,000 jobs were immediately at risk, with the number potentially tripling over the longer term.
The renewed consolidation pressure highlights the transformation underway across Europe’s banking industry, where lenders are increasingly turning to automation and AI to offset weak growth, rising compliance costs and shareholder demands for higher returns.