Banco Santander plans 1,200 layoffs in Spain

MADRID / AP

A union representing bank workers says Spain’s biggest bank is planning to lay off 1,200 workers as part of a restructuring plan that will also shutter more than 400 branches.
The UGT union says Banco Santander SA’s plan calls for half of the employees to take early retirement and receive 70 percent of their annual pay. UGT said in a statement Wednesday that other workers would be offered incentives to leave.
Santander did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Santander is one of Europe’s largest banks and has extensive operations in Latin America.
The Santander Group is a Spanish banking group centered on Banco Santander, S.A. and is the largest bank in the eurozone by market value. It is one of the largest banks in the world in terms of market capitalization. As its name suggests, the company originated in Santander, Cantabria, Spain[
The group has expanded since 2000 through a number of acquisitions, with operations across Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia. Many subsidiaries, such as Abbey National, have been rebranded under the Santander name.
The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. In April 2013, Santander was ranked as 43rd in the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s largest
companies.