UBS Jobless Tally Hits 18,000 Amid Rising Losses
UBS has announced plans to cut an additional 7,500 jobs, taking the number of staff reductions at Switzerland’s biggest bank to more than 18,000 since the start of the credit crunch.
Ahead of today's annual meeting in Zurich, UBS said it will reduce the number of employees globally to 67,500 by next year, against its previous target of 75,000 and reported a first quarter loss of SwFr2 billion (£1.1 billion).
The cuts are expected to fall most heavily in Switzerland and the US, its two biggest territories, with one-third of the reductions, around 2,500 positions, taking place in its home territory.
UBS did not disclose how many jobs would be lost in London, but the City has already taken a high proportion of previous cuts — the headcount has fallen from 9,500 in October 2007 to 7,000 today — suggesting there might be less scope for additional falls than elsewhere.
UBS also revealed that customers continued to pull their money from its funds and accounts.
UBS's wealth management and Swiss bank divisions recorded a net outflow of SwFr23 billion in the first three months of this year. "The outflow was mainly recorded after the announcement of the agreement in connection with the investigation into our cross-border activities for US clients,” said Oswald Grubel, UBS's chief executive, a reference to the US Government lawsuit faced by the bank to recover the details of some 52,000 US customers suspected of tax offences.
The bank attributed its SwFr2 billion first quarter loss - nearly twice the hit expected by analysts - to an additional SwFr3.9 billion of credit-related writedowns, including provisions against securities transferred to a fund controlled by the Swiss National Bank. In February, UBS reported a SwFr20.9 billion loss for 2008, the biggest ever recorded by a Swiss company.
UBS plans to cut its overall costs by up to SwFr4 billion by the end of next year against 2008 levels. It has already axed 11,000 jobs worldwide since October 2007, and last month called Mr Grubel, the veteran former boss of arch rival Credit Suisse, out of retirement to lead its restructuring efforts.
Mr Grubel said: "We know we have to set to work. It will be a long road back to success without any quick fixes. Rather, we will move forward step by step in a rigorous and disciplined manner."
Ahead of today's annual meeting in Zurich, UBS said it will reduce the number of employees globally to 67,500 by next year, against its previous target of 75,000 and reported a first quarter loss of SwFr2 billion (£1.1 billion).
The cuts are expected to fall most heavily in Switzerland and the US, its two biggest territories, with one-third of the reductions, around 2,500 positions, taking place in its home territory.
UBS did not disclose how many jobs would be lost in London, but the City has already taken a high proportion of previous cuts — the headcount has fallen from 9,500 in October 2007 to 7,000 today — suggesting there might be less scope for additional falls than elsewhere.
UBS also revealed that customers continued to pull their money from its funds and accounts.
UBS's wealth management and Swiss bank divisions recorded a net outflow of SwFr23 billion in the first three months of this year. "The outflow was mainly recorded after the announcement of the agreement in connection with the investigation into our cross-border activities for US clients,” said Oswald Grubel, UBS's chief executive, a reference to the US Government lawsuit faced by the bank to recover the details of some 52,000 US customers suspected of tax offences.
The bank attributed its SwFr2 billion first quarter loss - nearly twice the hit expected by analysts - to an additional SwFr3.9 billion of credit-related writedowns, including provisions against securities transferred to a fund controlled by the Swiss National Bank. In February, UBS reported a SwFr20.9 billion loss for 2008, the biggest ever recorded by a Swiss company.
UBS plans to cut its overall costs by up to SwFr4 billion by the end of next year against 2008 levels. It has already axed 11,000 jobs worldwide since October 2007, and last month called Mr Grubel, the veteran former boss of arch rival Credit Suisse, out of retirement to lead its restructuring efforts.
Mr Grubel said: "We know we have to set to work. It will be a long road back to success without any quick fixes. Rather, we will move forward step by step in a rigorous and disciplined manner."
quoted from: Times Online
