UBS to cut 3,000 staff in Switzerland as it integrates Credit Suisse

UBS Group plans to eliminate about 3,000 jobs in its home market as it seeks to cut billions of dollars in costs after buying rival Credit Suisse.

It’s the first time chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti has put a concrete figure on how many jobs the massive merger will cost, though the forced redundancies he disclosed on an analyst’s call on Thursday (Aug 31) are likely only a small part of the total reduction in headcount.

The acquisition of Credit Suisse increased UBS’s workforce by 45,000 to currently just under 120,000. 

UBS has previously said it wants to slash staff costs by about US$6 billion over the next several years, effectively accounting for more than half of Ermotti’s promise to slash costs by more than US$10 billion.

UBS announced on Thursday that it will keep Credit Suisse’s Swiss unit, adding a big operation where the two lenders have substantial overlap.

The decision came after UBS had earlier this month given up extensive guarantees which were offered by the Swiss government in March to sweeten the takeover. BLOOMBERG