Reply #37: French bank plans to cut 1,396 jobs

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/French-bank-plans-to-cut-1396-jobs/articleshow/10756818.cms

PARIS: Labor unions at BNP Paribas say the French bank is planning to cut its investment banking staff by nearly 1,400 next year, after the bank's exposure to Greek bonds caused its earnings to plummet.

A union representative who spoke on condition of anonymity said the bank unveiled plans for 1,396 job cuts at a meeting Wednesday. At the end of September, BNP Paribas' investment banking arm employed 21,400 people.

Bank officials were not immediately available to comment.

Earlier this month BNP Paribas said its net profit plummeted 72 percent in the third quarter after it accounted for expected losses on its Greek bonds in line with a new European agreement that hopes to reduce Greece's debt burden and halt the spread of the European debt crisis.