The Commerzbank works council is raising the bar in its fight over a takeover with Unicredit chief Andrea Orcel. “It’s a disgrace that Mr. Orcel is announcing an acquisition in the current environment, where uncertainty about the Iran war and rising energy prices is already high” said council chair Sascha Uebel in an interview with the “Handelsblatt” on Wednesday.
Orcel’s move adds to the unease at a time when stability matters more than ever. “By doing so he is once again throwing Commerzbank employees and customers head‑first into a storm” Uebel warned.
Representatives of Commerzbank employees, who are being advised by an investment bank, are convinced that a takeover by Unicredit would not be financially viable at present. “Unicredit would need to achieve multibillion‑level savings in the coming years” Uebel said. “But that won’t happen because we will fight against a wholesale cutback like the one at HVB by all means”.
Unicredit acquired Munich Hypo-Vereinsbank (HVB) in 2005 and since then has cut more than 60 % of its positions. Uebel pointed out that, following the 2025 strategy that was adopted, the employees’ representatives signed a transformation agreement with management. In addition, Commerzbank has a company‑wide collective agreement with the Verdi union in which the works council structures are fixed until 2030. “Verdi could block a lot of restructuring measures until 2030” Uebel added. “Unicredit will not be able to achieve significant savings in the next five years without us”.