Access to the counters of the Postbank branch at the main train station is blocked. People stop in front of the locked gate, read the information sheets that were attached to it, and one man curses. Like all 16 Munich locations, the branch will remain closed this Thursday. The reason for this is a company meeting of Postbank Filialvertrieb AG nearby, in the Mathäser Filmpalast.
In Postbank branches, customers can usually not only carry out banking transactions, but also buy stamps or drop off and pick up parcels. To do this, you can go to the Deutsche Post partner branches on the day of the works meeting. Employees from other parts of Bavaria were also expected to attend the works meeting in Munich, which is why branches in other locations in the Free State will also be closed this Thursday.
Around midday, the company meeting in the Mathäser is interrupted for a demonstration at Stachus. Because many Postbank employees are currently fearing for their jobs. At the end of October it became known that Deutsche Bank, the parent company of Postbank, plans to close a total of 250 of the current 550 locations by mid-2026. Only banking services will then be offered in 100 of the remaining branches. It is not yet known which branches will be affected by the closures.
This week, the Verdi union had already called for protests at works meetings in Hamburg and Stuttgart. “We want clarity for people as to which branches are affected,” says Tina Scholze from Verdi Bayern. In Munich there are 150 people who are currently employed at the locations. Postbank itself does not want to provide any regional information about its branches or the number of its customers in Munich.
Postbank recently experienced massive IT problems due to the move of data to Deutsche Bank’s systems – to the annoyance of many customers. “The employees turned their heads during the restructuring and now they are getting a slap in the face,” says Scholze. Verdi is committed to extending protection against dismissal for employees.
“DB = Disastrous operations” is written on a poster
Around noon, around 100 people, accompanied by the police, march from the Mathäser across the intersection to the fountain at Stachus. Verdi flags are waving in the air and a few self-made posters are being held up. For example, you can read “DB = disastrous operations”. The employees learned about the planned branch closures from the press. With their protest they want to show that, from their point of view, something is going wrong.
A woman who has worked for Postbank in Munich for decades and wishes to remain anonymous says: “Of course everyone in our branch is afraid.” Many customers have already closed their accounts because the route to the bank is now too far for them. Since 2021, ten Postbank locations have already been eliminated in the city. The fact that Deutsche Bank wants to transform it into a “mobile first” bank is apparently not attractive to everyone.
“I would like all branches to be retained,” says another demo participant who did not want to give her name. The Postbank employees at Stachus do not want to let their belief in a solution be taken away. “If you’re pessimistic, it’s already too late,” says the woman.
Deutsche Post, which is now called DHL Group, is now relying on other locations that offer their services. In Munich there are around 130 so-called partner branches, 160 parcel shops and 200 packing stations. If Postbank branches close, cooperation with partners in the retail sector will be further expanded.