Spanish banking unions are braced for thousands more job cuts this year, starting with redundancies at Spain’s largest bank Santander after its merger with subsidiary Banesto.

Unions said yesterday they expected between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs to go as a result of the merger and would hold talks next week with the bank.

With 6,000 jobs also going at Bankia and thousands of redundancies at other nationalised banks, the year has started on a gloomy note for many workers in Spain where about one in four of the workforce is already jobless. Spain has received €40 billion in European aid to restore its financial system, but as a condition of the aid, – much of which will go to nationalised lenders including Bankia – troubled lenders must cut more jobs and sell assets. – (Reuters)