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BNP Paribas to cut 20% of workforce at AM unit, source says

By Thomson Reuters Jan 22, 2026 | 12:09 PM

By Mathieu Rosemain and Mathias de Rozario

PARIS, Jan 22 – BNP Paribas plans to cut around 1,200 jobs at its asset management unit by the end ‍of 2027, or about 20% of the division’s workforce, as part of cost-cutting measures following its 5.1 billion-euro acquisition of AXA Investment Managers, a union source told Reuters on Thursday.

The French bank announced a voluntary departure plan during a works council meeting ‌earlier on Thursday, with the job reductions ‌to be implemented in three waves starting in mid-2026, the source said.

About 600 positions will be affected in France, the source said, adding that about 230 new jobs would also be created in ​the country as part of the plan.

French daily Les Echos was first to report the news.

In a statement ‍to Reuters, BNP Paribas AM said ​it would start talks with employee representatives ​about its so-called “target organisational model” following the legal merger of ‍entities and the creation of a unified asset management structure. It did not elaborate on the number of jobs that could be affected.

The restructuring aims to eliminate duplicate roles in both support functions, such as human resources and ‍legal departments, as well as in investment management operations, the source said. The union source said the figures could still change, ‍with talks due ‍to start early next month.

The bank is ​targeting 550 million euros in revenue and cost ​synergies ⁠from the AXA IM integration by 2029, ‌it said in October.

The BNP Paribas AM-AXA IM merger created Europe’s third-largest asset manager, with 1.6 trillion euros ($1.88 trillion) in assets under management, behind only Amundi and UBS Asset Management.

($1 = 0.8515 euros)

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Mathias de Rozario in Gdansk, Editing ⁠by Louise Heavens)