The Swiss bank UBS apparently wants to cut more than half of the CS jobs as a result of the takeover of rival Credit Suisse (CS). The layoffs are set to begin next month, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. UBS wants to reduce the entire workforce of both banks by around 30 percent. That corresponds to 35,000 employees. The number of employees at Credit Suisse is currently 45,000. UBS declined to comment. Credit Suisse was initially unable to comment.
To end a bank run, the Swiss government orchestrated an emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS in mid-March. The largest takeover in the banking industry since the financial crisis was completed in mid-June. Together, UBS and Credit Suisse have around 120,000 employees.
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said on Tuesday that the integration of Credit Suisse into UBS was going “very well”. Ermotti has already set the course. This is how the composition of the executive board and the management level below it was determined. In the past, Ermotti had promised job cuts in order to avoid duplicate structures and to leverage synergies from the merger.