MUFG Bank will likely downsize more than 8,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2023 as it accelerates structural reforms, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The reduction is equivalent to 20% of about 40,000 employees the bank had in fiscal 2017. Many banks are reviewing their operations as they face a turning point brought about by the rise of fintech firms that integrate financial and IT services as well as prolonged low interest rates.
The bank previously planned to reduce the number of overall employees by 6,000, but will raise the number to 8,000 by scaling back hiring in addition to natural attrition from mandatory retirements among those who started during the years when companies hired in great numbers.
The number of new graduates the bank plans to hire for spring 2021 will be 400 in total, down by about 20% from the previous year, marking a record low. The figure is about 1,000 fewer than that in 2016. By utilizing artificial intelligence, the bank aims to reduce the workload equivalent of more than 10,000 employees.
The bank will also accelerate the restructuring of its branches, and plans to reduce the number of branches offering full banking services such as comprehensive over-the-counter transactions to one-third by the end of fiscal 2023. This was initially planned to be halved.
The number of branches stood at 515 nationwide as of the end of fiscal 2017 and is expected to decrease by about 200 to about 310 by the end of fiscal 2023. Instead, the bank plans to increase the number of so-called lightweight branches that handle limited over-the-counter services.
Due to the Bank of Japan's negative-interest-rate policy among other factors, profit margins at domestic banks have shrunk, prompting many banks to cut staff and branches.
Among megabanks, Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. plans to downsize about 19,000 jobs over 10 years and trim about 130 branches mainly in urban areas by the end of fiscal 2024. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. aims to reduce its workforce equivalent to about 5,000 employees.
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