Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Banco Santander, the Spanish multinational commercial bank and financial services company, has agreed a collective redundancy plan with the unions (CCOO, UGT, FITC and STS) affecting 3,572 employees (reducing the initial 5,072 affected), through voluntary redundancies or early retirement. Another 1,500 employees will be relocated to other companies of the group. The company will also close 1,033 offices in Spain. This collective layoff plan is part of its announced restructuring plan at European level; reasons behind the decision are the need to digitalise operations and the impact of COVID-19.
The conditions for compensation for employees 50 years old or older vary depending on voluntary leaves or early retirements and according to age group. For example, compensatory payments of 65% of salary for six years with a maximum of 320,000 euros for voluntary leaves of workers aged 50-54 with more than 15 years of seniority. Those under 50 years old with any length of service will receive an allowance of 40 days of gross annual salary with a maximum of 24 monthly payments. Unions consider that the compensation packages are sufficient and worthy of previous processes and that they will reduce the impact of the restructuring.
This restructuring plan comes after the company implemented a collective layoff plan in 2019 that affected 3,223 employees and another announced at the end of 2017 which affected 1,585 employees.
Update 15/02/2022: Banco Santander has announced the full implementation of its adjustment plan whereby 3572 employees have voluntarily left the company and 1000 branches were closed. In addition, the unions report that another 213 people have voluntarily left the company regardless of the adjustment plan.
Eurofound (2020), Banco Santander, Internal restructuring in Spain, factsheet number 102969, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/102969.
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