150,000 bank jobs: Verdi wants AI rules, employers say no
Verdi, the services union, and the AGV Banken employers' association meet in Frankfurt on 2 November for a second round of talks covering about 150,000 staff at Germany's private banks; besides a 6 per cent pay rise, the union wants binding rules on the use of AI.
In the private-bank pay round, AI sits alongside pay as a demand of its own. Employers do not want job security, workforce planning and training linked to AI written into the collective agreement.
What happened
Verdi is asking for a 6 per cent rise over 12 months, €300 a month more for junior staff and full-time jobs for trainees once qualified. It also wants binding rules on job security, workforce planning and training when banks deploy AI and restructure, plus the option of converting pay into up to 20 extra days off a year. At the first round on 8 October AGV Banken made no offer. Its chief negotiator, Thomas A. Lange, rejected stricter dismissal protection and collective rules on restructuring and called the pay demand much too high. On 26 October Verdi called about 3,500 staff in Hamburg, including at Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and UniCredit, out on a full-day warning strike; Baden-Württemberg followed the next day. Assessment: the pressure on banking jobs is documented. In October Barclays announced 5,000 job cuts and Generali Deutschland 800. Santander has opened AI tools to all 185,000 employees and aims to generate more than €1bn of business value from them in 2026-28.
What follows
If AI enters the collective agreement, banks would have to pair new tools with staffing and training plans that apply across the sector. If it stays out, each bank settles the matter with its works council, which already has co-determination rights over technical systems. For banks the difference is one of speed and cost: sector-wide rules make restructuring more predictable and more expensive, in-house rules faster and more uneven. Assessment: whether Verdi trades the AI demand for more pay or holds on to it will show how much weight staff give the issue. A third round is set for 23 November in Berlin.
What changes in practice
- Employees
- Verdi wants 6 per cent over 12 months, €300 more for junior staff and firm rules on how banks plan staffing and training when using AI.
- Bank customers
- Further warning strikes may hit individual branches; employers expected no noticeable impact on operations from the first strikes.
- Banks
- Without collective AI rules, deployment stays a matter for each bank and its works council; with them, planning and training duties apply.
What to watch
- Whether employers table a pay offer on 2 November
- Whether AI rules make it into a deal or move into works agreements
- Third round on 23 November in Berlin and further warning strikes
Sources
- DGB Tarifmeldung: Verdi ruft zu bundesweiten Warnstreiks bei privaten Banken auf
- Der Aktionär (dpa-AFX): Banken wollen nicht über KI-Schutz und Freizeit verhandeln
- Der Aktionär (dpa-AFX): Verdi ruft bundesweit zu Warnstreiks bei privaten Banken auf
- BornCity: Private Banken, Verdi fordert verbindliche Regeln für den KI-Einsatz
- Santander: AI-first strategy, access for all 185,000 employees