Royal bank of Canada reveals bank cut 1% of workforce, plans more job cuts

The Royal Bank of Canada revealed that it has cut up to one per cent of its work force in the last few weeks and plans to cut up to two per cent more as Canada’s biggest bank attempts to implement a cost reduction strategy for the quarter.

In its third quarter earnings released Thursday, RBC cited cost cutting methods and higher interest rates for an 8% increase in net income, reporting $3.9 billion for the quarter, up $295 million.

RBC also revealed that it has trimmed jobs and is planning to slash more, as the Toronto-listed bank beat analyst expectations for the quarter.

The bank has roughly 97,000 employees, it says, which means the existing cuts amount to almost 1,000 people, and the cuts to come could be twice that. RBC Chief Executive Officer Dave McKay had said last quarter in May that the bank would slow hiring after it overshot by thousands of people.

“Honestly, we overshot — we overshot by thousands of people,” McKay said last quarter.

For the third quarter, RBC reported diluted earning per share of $2.73, and adjusted earnings per share of $2.84. The bank took in just over $14.4 billion in revenue during the quarter, an increase of almost 20 per cent from just over $12 billion for the same period last year.

“We remain focused on executing on our cost reduction strategy while leveraging our strong balance sheet and diversified business model to support our growth,” McKay said in the release statement Thursday.

Rahat Sandhu