Deutsche Bank set to cut one in seven trader positions

Deutsche Bank has become the latest big-name investment bank to cull its workforce, as it prepares to cut 900 jobs, with London and New York set to suffer the worst.

Sources at the German financial powerhouse confirmed that almost one in seven traders faced the axe from its Global Markets division, as trading has slowed in the wake of the financial crisis. A spokeswoman for Deutsche declined to comment.

Traders in the structured products – complex derivative instruments – credit origination and proprietary trading teams are understood to be the worst affected in the 7,000-strong division. So far, no further details about the cuts have emerged, but one insider said "there will inevitably be more of an impact on London and New York, as that's where the division is focused".

This is the worst single cull by the bank, which had so far avoided the extent of losses and writedowns experienced by some of its big-name rivals, especially on Wall Street. To date, it has cut about 1,500 jobs in stages from across its 80,000 employees worldwide this year. One source close to the bank said: "Deutsche has relatively outperformed many of its rivals, so when it comes to cuts, things have been nowhere near as bad."

The news comes two days after Citigroup announced it was to cut 53,000 more jobs, with many expected to go from its operation in Canary Wharf.

Citigroup's chairman, Sir Win Bischoff, said the cuts would inevitably hit the financial sector hard. "Certainly they will fall particularly heavily on London and New York," he added. The group is planning to slash headcount by 20 per cent from its peak of 375,000 after reporting four quarters of losses.

HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch have all recently cut jobs, while Goldman Sachs said last month it was to reduce its workforce by 10 per cent.

RBS has also announced it is to slash 3,000 employees from its 21,000-strong investment banking business. The same day, National Australia Group said it was to axe 350 jobs at its UK banks Clydesdale and Yorkshire.

BT is to shed 10,000 jobs, while Vodafone, Virgin Media, GlaxoSmithKline, Yell and Trinity Mirror have all admitted that cuts are likely to be implemented.