BNP Paribas seeks to cut about 1,200 roles on Axa IM integration

[PARIS] BNP Paribas is seeking to eliminate about 1,200 positions as it completes the integration of the asset management unit Axa Investment Managers (IM).

The number is a starting point around a voluntary redundancy plan for talks with unions that are expected to happen over the coming weeks, according to sources familiar with the matter. The plan, which was first reported by the newspaper Les Echos, could still change, they said, asking not to be named discussing the private information.

“Following the legal merger of the entities and the creation of a unified asset management structure announced at the beginning of the year, BNP Paribas Asset Management confirms its intention to launch a consultation process with employee representatives bodies regarding a proposed target organisational model,” a BNP Paribas AM spokesperson said.

France’s biggest lender bought the asset management unit from the insurer Axa in 2024 for about five billion euros (S$7.5 billion), creating one of Europe’s largest money managers with roughly 1.5 trillion euros in overseen assets at the time.

Europe’s biggest fund firm is Amundi, owned by BNP Paribas’ domestic competitor Credit Agricole, though all are dwarfed by the giant US firms, notably BlackRock and Vanguard Group.

The Axa IM deal was the biggest for BNP Paribas chief executive officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe who had previously shied away from large transactions, preferring instead to return cash to shareholders.

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More recently, Bonnafe has been selling some stakes in various businesses. The transactions were part of a plan to boost BNP Paribas’ CET1 ratio, a key metric of capital strength, sources familiar with the matter said at the time. BLOOMBERG