UBS Group is planning to lay off more than half of Credit Suisse Group's 45,000-strong workforce starting next month as a result of the bank's emergency takeover.
Bankers, traders and support staff in Credit Suisse's investment bank in London, New York, and in some parts of Asia are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts, with almost all activities at risk, people familiar with the matter said.
Staffers have been told to expect three rounds of cuts this year, with the first expected by the end of July and two more rounds tentatively planned for September and October, the people added, asking not to be named as the plans aren't public.
Three months after UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse in a government-brokered rescue, the full extent of the job cuts is starting to become clear. UBS, whose combined workforce jumped to about 120,000 when the deal closed, has said it aims to save some $6 billion in staff costs in the coming years.
UBS intends to ultimately reduce the total combined headcount by about 30%, or 35,000 people, two of the people said. That's broadly in line with an overall reduction of around 30,000 estimated by analysts at Redburn in a report on UBS this month.
A spokesperson for UBS declined to comment on the job exits.
The cull of staff at the Swiss lender will dramatically worsen what was already a dismal year for financial sector jobs worldwide, after Wall Street investment banks including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group announced their own cuts of thousands of staff.
Credit Suisse's asset management arm saw clients continue to pull money from its investment funds this quarter, underscoring the challenges for UBS it integrates its former rival.
Investors took out about $6 billion through June 22 from open-end funds and ETFs tracked by Morningstar Direct. The data covers funds holding more than $150 billion worth of assets, which is roughly equivalent to 40% of the investment unit's total assets under management. It excludes money market funds, feeders and funds of funds.
The figures are an early indication of the performance of Credit Suisse asset management unit, which has seen clients pull for five consecutive quarters amid a crisis of confidence that saw it collapse into the arms of UBS in March. Stemming those outflows has been a key priority for the leadership of the combined bank.
Assets under management at Credit Suisse's investment unit have been dropping since the end of 2021 when they stood at 477 billion Swiss francs ($533 billion). They hit 399 billion francs at the end of the first quarter.
