PARIS (AFP) - French banking giant Societe Generale is planning to cut 1,600 jobs, mainly in its BFI corporate and investment banking arm, union sources said on Monday (April 8).

Around 700 cuts would come in France, at both the BFI unit and in retail banking and international financial services, the CFDT and CFT unions said.

Those cuts would be made via a programme of voluntary departures, CFDT representative Khalid Bel Hadaoui told AFP, adding that "each year brings with it a number of job cuts."

The news had been expected because Societe Generale had already unveiled a plan to reduce costs by around 500 million euros (S$758.5 million) by 2020 to increase profitability of its market activities.

Societe Generale reported higher-than-expected profits in 2018 but said it would adjust its targets and those of its investment bank as it anticipated financial headwinds ahead.

The bank has a global workforce of around 148,000, of whom about 20,000 worked at BFI.