UBS Cuts 700 Jobs
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Swiss bankers are the first to go in the Swiss bank’s current round of cuts. UBS has started cutting jobs as part of its current round of cost-savings measures, with around 700 employees in Switzerland affected.
Most of the cuts will be in the corporate center although 200 jobs will go in wealth management and UBS Switzerland. These are in addition to the roughly 125 jobs UBS was going to get rid of before the Covid-19 pandemic put those plans on ice
UBS CEO Ralph Hamers announced a $1 billion cost-savings target during first-quarter results last month. UBS’s cuts are aimed at the jobs expected to become redundant as a result of its ongoing digitalization processes. finews.com reported on the plans in April. They are expected to be wide-ranging and take out 3,000 jobs in total.
UBS has not confirmed the figure but it is realistic in view of the savings targets and the bank’s cost structures. It also announced that restructuring costs would total $300 million in the second quarter, most of which were in the scope of the cuts originally announced last year.
According to Bloomberg, around a dozen managing directors as well as more junior bankers in the advisory and trading business were recently let go. In wealth management, about five managing directors and several executive directors were impacted. In the investment bank, most of those cuts were those responsible for wealth management clients.
CEO Hamers said his current efforts are aimed at implementing and executing the transformation and digitalization strategy, which is expected to take about three years.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which areas within UBS are most affected by the job cuts?
Which areas within UBS are most affected by the job cuts?
Most of the 700 initial job cuts are in the corporate centre. Also, 200 jobs will be eliminated in wealth management and UBS Switzerland, impacting both managing directors and more junior bankers across various departments.
Q.What is the primary reason for UBS implementing these job cuts?
What is the primary reason for UBS implementing these job cuts?
The cuts are part of a current round of cost-saving measures, driven by CEO Ralph Hamers' $1 billion cost-savings target. They are specifically aimed at jobs expected to become redundant due to ongoing digitalization processes within the bank.
Q.What is the expected total number of jobs UBS plans to cut?
What is the expected total number of jobs UBS plans to cut?
The cuts are expected to be wide-ranging, with reports suggesting a total of 3,000 jobs will be eliminated. UBS has not confirmed this figure, but it aligns with the bank's savings targets and cost structures.
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