Italian bank UniCredit announces job cuts as profits slide

MILAN (AP) — Italian bank UniCredit has announced it will cut more than 18,000 jobs by 2018 as its third-quarter profits slid 30 percent due to one-off charges relating to operations outside of its main Italian market.

UniCredit, Italy's largest bank by assets, said in a statement Wednesday that net profit for the three months ending Sept. 30 was 507 million euros ($544 million), down from 722 million euros in the same period last year.

It said the drop in earnings was due to 400 million euros of non-recurring charges, including an impairment charge for its Ukrainian subsidiary Urkotsbank, which UniCredit is negotiating to sell.

The bank said in a separate statement it will cut jobs in Germany, Austria and Italy.