The UBS CEO wants to downsize the investment division of Credit Suisse.
(Photo: Reuters)
Zurich Hard times are ahead for the employees of Credit Suisse: around half of the remaining 45,000 jobs at the once second-largest Swiss bank could be lost. The Bloomberg news agency reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the events. UBS declined to comment on the report.
In total, the integration of Credit Suisse could cost up to 35,000 jobs, the report goes on to say. The first round of terminations is scheduled to begin in July, with two more to follow in the fall.
UBS took over what was once its biggest competitor in mid-March as part of a state-mandated bailout. Previously, Credit Suisse customers had withdrawn funds from the bank on a large scale and brought the institution into liquidity difficulties.
After the completion of the takeover, the workforce of the new Swiss megabank had swelled to 120,000 employees. The job cuts would then correspond to almost 30 percent of the total workforce. UBS hopes that this will save around six billion dollars a year in the coming years.
The job cuts are likely to hit the Credit Suisse investment bank particularly hard. In the past, it had suffered billions in losses and thus contributed significantly to customers’ loss of trust in Credit Suisse. UBS boss Sergio Ermotti had always emphasized that the risks assumed by Credit Suisse in investment banking had been radically reduced.
Full integration as a baseline scenario
The cuts in asset management are likely to be the smallest. Ermotti also sees this as a core business for the newly formed UBS. On the other hand, the future of the business in the Swiss home market remains open. In Swiss politics in particular, there have recently been increasing numbers of voices calling for the division to be split off and retained as an independent bank.
However, hopes are fading here that Credit Suisse Switzerland and with it branches and jobs will remain intact. Ermotti recently emphasized to the workforce that he considers the complete integration of Credit Suisse to be the baseline scenario.
More: UBS boss hints at job cuts at Credit Suisse investment bank