STOCKHOLM, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Swedish bank Handelsbanken will reduce its staff by 1,600 employees by the year 2022, the Swedish Television SVT reported on Wednesday.
The bank hopes that by reducing its staff it will be able to cut costs. Handelsbanken said it expects the staff reduction to take place gradually over the next four years.
"In Handelsbanken, it is an ongoing task to make our operation more effective. Digitalization now offers us new opportunities in increasing our efficiency," the bank wrote in a report quoted by SVT.
The bank announced the staff reduction alongside its earnings results for the third quarter of this year. Handelsbanken reported an operating profit of 5.34 billion Swedish krona (588 million U.S. dollars) down from last year's corresponding result of 5.42 billion krona.
In total, Handelsbanken's revenue was reported to be 10.73 billion krona compared to the previous year's corresponding period of 10.25 billion krona. (1 U.S. dollar = 9.08 Swedish krona)
