Nearly 2,000 jobs to be cut after BGŻ and BNP Paribas merger

Up to 23 percent of staff, that is 1,900 employees, may be dismissed due to the acquisition of Poland's BGŻ by France's BNP Paribas, Rzeczpospolita daily informed. The lenders are planning on closing 118 offices, which is 19 percent of all units. Lenders neither confirm nor deny the news. "We will implement a new organizational structure when the merger takes place. ... The lender has necessary information about conducting talks in line with the law on massive lay-offs," said Aleksandra Myczkowska, BGŻ spokeswomen. BNP Paribias will acquire 98.5 percent of BGŻ shares, worth PLN 4.2 billion. The legal merger should be concluded through June 2015.