TD Bank cutting thousands of jobs amid ‘challenging environment’

globalnews.ca:

TD Bank Group said it’s cutting three per cent of staff and setting more money aside for souring loans as it reported fourth quarter results that reflect a deteriorating economic picture.

The bank said Thursday that the cuts, which amount to around 3,100 employees based on its third quarter employee total, will contribute to a $363-million restructuring charge this quarter, and a similar cost in the first half of next year.

“This is a part of a broader restructuring program to streamline, and deliver efficiencies for the bank and then help create capacity to invest in future growth,” said chief financial officer Kelvin Tran in an interview.

Restructuring is expected to save $400 million pre-tax for its 2024 fiscal year, and $600 million a year after that, the bank said.

TD’s cuts are a similar amount to what Scotiabank announced during the quarter, and what RBC guided in its third quarter results.

Tran said TD has already made some cuts and will continue to do so throughout next year, while it will also achieve some of the reductions through attrition and will work to redeploy staff where possible.

Along with severance and other personnel-related costs, the charges also cover it pulling back on its real estate footprint and asset impairments.

The charges, combined with increased provisions for bad loans, put pressure on earnings that worked out to $2.89 billion or $1.49 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from a profit of $6.67 billion or $3.62 per diluted share a year earlier.

TD chief financial officer Kelvin Tran said it was a mixed quarter in a “challenging environment,” as the bank also warned that it will be hard to meet its medium-term targets around earnings growth and return on equity.

“What we