German utility E.ON on Monday said it plans to cut up to 5,000 jobs as part of its takeover of the renewables unit Innogy from rival RWE, in a deal that will redraw the country’s energy landscape.

In a joint statement, E.ON and RWE said they planned to complete their asset swap transaction, which surprised investors when it was unveiled this weekend, “by the end of 2019”. E.ON said it expects the Innogy takeover to generate some 600 to 800 million euros in savings annually from 2022, but warned that the “integration process” will lead to “a reduction of a maximum of 5,000 jobs” out of a total of around 70,000 jobs, according to thelocal.de. “At the same time, E.ON anticipates to create thousands of new jobs in the coming decade,” the statement added.

The deal would first see EON acquire RWE’s 76.8 percent stake in Innogy. Pending the green light from financial regulators, E.ON then intends to make a voluntary takeover offer to Innogy’s minority shareholders from “early May”, offering 40 euros per share. RWE for its part would gain an effective participation of 16.67 percent in EON – turning the one-time competitor into EON’s largest shareholder.

The next step of the deal would see RWE take control of EON’s renewables business, including Innogy.