DGAP-News: Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Miscellaneous 
Commerzbank and employee representatives agree on headcount reduction 
2021-05-07 / 13:31 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
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- Framework arrangements concluded for announced headcount reduction by end of 2024 
- Remaining provisions for the headcount reduction to be booked in Q2 2021 
- Manfred Knof: "We engaged in some very intensive negotiations and have achieved a result that will enable the fast 
implementation of the transformation. I would like to express my thanks to all the participants for the disciplined and 
constructive cooperation, despite the differing interests." 
- Sabine Schmittroth: "We have found solutions for our employees that are fair, comprehensible and socially 
responsible. The settlement of interests and social plan form the framework which enables us to bring the negotiations 
to a conclusion by the end of the year." 
Commerzbank and the employee representatives have today agreed on a framework settlement of interests and a framework 
social plan for AG Germany. The binding agreements form the platform for a maximally socially responsible headcount 
reduction within the framework of the "Strategy 2024" adopted in February. The Bank intends to implement the headcount 
reduction primarily through retirement arrangements, such as partial retirement or early retirement. As part of this 
arrangement, the Bank has extended the offer of early retirement to seven years. Furthermore, termination agreements 
and support for employees with perspectives inside and outside the Bank have been agreed. 
The Bank will book provisions for additional restructuring expenses of around 225 million euros for retirement 
arrangements that were expanded beyond the scope of the original plan. "This money is well invested as it enhances our 
planning certainty for the implementation of the headcount reduction," commented Manfred Knof, Chairman of the Board of 
Managing Directors of Commerzbank. "We engaged in some very intensive negotiations and have achieved a result that will 
enable the fast implementation of the transformation. I would like to express my thanks to all the participants for the 
disciplined and constructive cooperation, despite all the differing interests." 
Overall, the Bank is now projecting total restructuring expenses amounting to slightly above two billion euros. Out of 
these expenses, more than 900 million euros were already booked in the last two business years. At the beginning of 
April, the Bank set aside further provisions in the amount of around 470 million euros for the first quarter of 2021. 
These are intended for a number of initiatives including a voluntary programme. Employees who make use of this offer 
will leave the Bank by the end of 2021 at the latest, so that savings will already be effective from the coming year. 
The remaining expenses for the headcount reduction will be booked in the second quarter. 
Over the coming months, the details of the headcount reduction in the individual Group divisions are to be discussed 
based on the framework agreements reached and arranged in partial settlements of interests. The aim is to complete 
these negotiations by the end of this year. 
The bank intends to carry out a review on the status of the agreed headcount reduction in 2023. If it emerges that the 
measures have proved inadequate, the Bank will discuss necessary additional measures with the employee representatives 
in the first quarter of 2023. These include collective reductions in working hours or compulsory redundancies as a last 
resort. Both sides have agreed the social plan to compensate for or ameliorate the economic disadvantages for affected 
employees. 
"We have found solutions for our employees that are fair, comprehensible and socially responsible. The settlement of 
interests and social plan form the framework for being able to bring the negotiations to a conclusion by the end of the 
year," said Sabine Schmittroth, Member of the Board of Managing Directors responsible for Human Resources. 
Uwe Tschäge, Chairman of the Central and Group Works Council, stated: "A top priority for us is to take appropriate 
account of the interests of the employees. These encompass the interests of those employees who remain with the Bank 
and the interests of colleagues who leave the Bank. A step like this can only happen with a socially responsible 
structure for the headcount reduction. We have made good progress with the agreements reached and we will expand on 
these in further negotiations." 
As part of its "Strategy 2024", Commerzbank launched a comprehensive transformation. The aim of the restructuring is to 
combine the advantages of a fully digitalised bank with personal advisory services, a consistent customer focus and 
sustainability. Costs are to be substantially reduced and profitability significantly increased by 2024. This will 
permit Commerzbank to create the enablers to reinforce its leading position as the Bank for the German Mittelstand and 
a strong partner for around eleven million Private and Small-Business Customers. The realignment makes a significant 
headcount reduction inevitable. The Bank is planning to reduce the number of full-time positions by around 10,000 in 
gross terms by 2024. This compares with an increase of around 2,500 full-time equivalents. This will reduce the costs 
for external service providers alongside other benefits. Overall, it will result in a net reduction of around 7,500 
positions. 
***** 
Press contact 
Dennis Bartel +49 69 136 26528 
Erik Nebel +49 69 136 44986 
***** 
About Commerzbank 
Commerzbank is the leading bank for the German Mittelstand and a strong partner for around 30,000 corporate client 
groups and around 11 million private and small-business customers in Germany. The Bank's two Business Segments - 
Private and Small-Business Customers and Corporate Clients - offer a comprehensive portfolio of financial services. 
Commerzbank transacts approximately 30 per cent of Germany's foreign trade and is present internationally in almost 40 
countries in the corporate clients' business. The Bank focusses on the German Mittelstand, large corporates, and 
institutional clients. As part of its international business, Commerzbank supports clients with German connectivity and 
companies operating in selected future-oriented industries. Following the integration of Comdirect, private and 
small-business customers benefit from the services offered by one of Germany's most advanced online banks combined with 
personal advisory support on site. Its Polish subsidiary mBank S.A. is an innovative digital bank that serves 
approximately 5.5 million private and corporate customers, predominantly in Poland, but also in the Czech Republic and 
Slovakia. In 2020, Commerzbank generated gross revenues of some EUR8.2 billion with almost 48,000 employees. 
Disclaimer 
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical 
facts. In this release, these statements concern inter alia the expected future business of Commerzbank, efficiency 
gains and expected synergies, expected growth prospects and other opportunities for an increase in value of Commerzbank 
as well as expected future financial results, restructuring costs and other financial developments and information. 
These forward-looking statements are based on the management's current plans, expectations, estimates and projections. 
They are subject to a number of assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that 
may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from any future results and developments expressed or 
implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include the conditions in the financial markets in Germany, in 
Europe, in the USA and other regions from which Commerzbank derives a substantial portion of its revenues and in which 
Commerzbank holds a substantial portion of its assets, the development of asset prices and market volatility, 
especially due to the ongoing European debt crisis, potential defaults of borrowers or trading counterparties, the 
implementation of its strategic initiatives to improve its business model, the reliability of its risk management 
policies, procedures and methods, risks arising as a result of regulatory change and other risks. Forward-looking 
statements therefore speak only as of the date they are made. Commerzbank has no obligation to update or release any 
revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date 
of this release. 
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2021-05-07 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. 
Archive at www.dgap.de 
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Language:     English 
Company:      Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft 
              Kaiserstraße 16 
              60311 Frankfurt am Main 
              Germany 
Phone:        +49 (069) 136 20 
Fax:          - 
E-mail:       pressestelle@commerzbank.com 
Internet:     www.commerzbank.de 
ISIN:         DE000CBK1001 
WKN:          CBK100 
Indices:      MDAX, CDAX, HDAX, PRIMEALL 
Listed:       Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, 
              Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange 
EQS News ID:  1194050 
 
End of News   DGAP News Service 
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