Germany's Bundesbank faces mass worker protest

Bundesbank employees plan to stage the biggest protest in the bank's history on Tuesday, in opposition to plans to shut almost half of its regional offices.

The Bundesbank's board said last month it would look into closing 14 of its 47 branches by 2012, with another nine facing the axe by 2015 if it goes ahead with plans to set up two new cash handling centres. A final decision will be made by December.

"This is a historic first, as for the very first time Bundesbank employees turn into the streets to voice their protest," said Bernd Kurczyk, a union head at the Bundesbank.

The demonstration will take place against a background of wider rumblings within the Bundesbank.

A meeting of the banks' top decision makers is expected to strip board member Thilo Sarrazin of key duties following controversial comments he made about Turkish and Arab groups in a recent interview.

Demonstrators, who plan to protest during the meeting, are likely to welcome any such decision. It would force Sarrazin to relinquish control of cash circulation matters at the Bundesbank, the central battleground in the branch closure plan.