Dresdner redundancy payments said to be quite generous
There is much to complain about in Gresham Street. Severance packages do not appear to be among them.
The big cause for complaint is already well known: bonuses. Many hundreds of Dresdner bankers are said to be preparing a lawsuit after having their bonuses slashed by up to 90%.
Current and former Dresdner bankers say further discontent is being fostered by the "stunning lack of clarity" over what Commerz actually intends to do with the business.
"When they first took it over, their intention was to lose equity research, sales and trading, and most of M&A. Then they got excited and wanted to keep some of M&A. As I understand it, they are now looking through their business plans again," says one.
"There's a lot of uncertainty and complete radio silence from senior management," says another. "No one really feels safe - even those who'd previously been told that they were ok, and there are rumours of another round of redundancies."
In the event that further redundancies do take place, the good news is that severance packages don't appear too bad. According to former and ex-insiders, DK is paying a minimum of five months' salary to everyone with more than 2 years' experience.
People who are let go with more than two years' experience are said to be getting one month's salary for every year, up to a maximum of one year.
If true, this is a little unfair on people who've worked at the bank for six years and only get six months' salary. But for DK bankers who joined two years' ago, the package appears to be one of the most generous in the City.
