Commerzbank is exploring cutting thousands of jobs as it seeks to fend off unwanted advances from Italy’s UniCredit, according to people familiar with the matter.

Report informs via The Financial Times that the plans, which have not yet been formalised, were expected to be unveiled to the workers’ council over the coming weeks, two of the people said. One person familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times that the figure was likely to be “in the low thousands”.

The German lender’s new chief executive, Bettina Orlopp, is due to present an updated strategy on February 13 to show the bank can improve profitability and payouts to shareholders on its own.

UniCredit, led by chief executive Andrea Orcel, has built a position in Commerzbank that has the potential to make it the bank’s largest shareholder if it secures regulatory approval.

Orcel has made no secret of his ambitions for Commerzbank, including a full takeover of the German rival.

Investors in Commerzbank have generally been supportive of a deal — with the exception of the German government, which still holds a 12 per cent stake after selling a 4.5 per cent holding to UniCredit last year.

Analysts anticipate that a tie-up would result in billions of euros of cost savings, as the enlarged bank strips out duplicate functions.

A crucial point of resistance from both the unions and the government has been the potential for UniCredit to wield the axe in Germany, where it already has a German subsidiary, HypoVereinsbank (HVB).

Commerzbank unions have warned that a takeover by UniCredit could put up to 15,000 jobs on the line — an issue that has taken on an extra dimension of political sensitivity ahead of Germany’s federal elections, being held next month.

The potential for Commerzbank to instigate cuts even without being taken over by the Italian bank would mark another chapter in its prolonged restructuring.