Deutsche Bank sinks after announcing 7,000 job cuts ahead of its contentious annual meeting

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Deutsche Bank's Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner and Christian Sewing, new CEO of Germany's Deutsche Bank, pose during the bank's annual meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, May 24, 2018.

• Deutsche Bank will trim its global staff from 97,000 to 90,000, the bank said Thursday.
• Shares are set to open lower by 4%, making for the second day of losses.
• Follow DB stock price in real-time here.

Deutsche Bank fell as much as 5% in early trading Thursday after the firm said it would cut its global headcount by 7,000.

CEO Christian Sewing, who took over Germany's largest lender in April, told staff "we must concentrate on what we truly do well."

He also said the bank would cut its equities sales and trading headcount by 25% and its investment bank leverage exposure by 10%. The global headcount cut is less than the expected 10,000 reported by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, but still a 7% reduction.

"We remain committed to our Corporate & Investment Bank and our international presence - we are unwavering in that," Sewing said in a statement ahead of Deutsche Bank's annual meeting on Thursday.

Paul Achleitner, chairman of the bank's supervisory board, could be ousted by angry shareholders at the meeting. He faces a vote of no confidence from investors who would like to see him exit the embattled bank where he has worked since 2012.

The first investors to speak at the meeting proposed that Achleitner be removed from chairing the meeting. As shouts from angry shareholders filled the hall, the Guardian reported, Deutsche Bank suspended its live feed of the meeting.

Shares of the Deutsche Bank are set to open at a 52-week low of $12.28, about 10% above their all-time low of $11.01 set back in September 2017. The stock has declined by 34% so far in 2018.

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