UBS to cut workforce by up to 30% after Credit Suisse takeover: Report

As many as 11,000 employees will be laid off in Switzerland, the Swiss newspaper said. The two lenders together employed almost 125,000 people at the end of 2022, with about 30% of the total in Switzerland.

That number of predicted layoffs dwarfs the 9,000 job cuts that Credit Suisse announced before its rescue by UBS last month. It had been expected that final total of layoffs would reach a multiple of that number given sizable overlap between the two former rivals.

A spokesperson for UBS declined to comment.

Publicly, UBS has said it will give clarity on job cuts as soon as it can. While it was clear that major layoffs were coming, the lender sees retention of talent as a significant part of the takeover’s execution risk.

Firms such as Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are gearing up to recruit some of the investment bankers and wealth managers likely to be let go. Already, headhunters saw themselves swarmed by Credit Suisse bankers seeking new jobs, as people from more than a dozen firms told Bloomberg last month. 

The emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by its larger Swiss competitor in a $3.3 billion deal was announced by the Swiss government on March 19 after five days of talks brokered by officials.

Years of scandals at Credit Suisse culminated in massive deposit outflows which would have seen it collapse the following Monday had action not been taken, according to Switzerland’s finance minister.

Switzerland’s Office of the Attoney General said on Sunday it opened an investigation into the takeover and is gathering evidence to identify possible crimes. The top federal prosecutor ordered national and regional authorities to investigate, according to a statement. 

The authority didn’t specify whether the investigation focuses on government officials, bank executives or journalists who reported on leaks from the closed-door negotiations. 

The government resorted to emergency law to push through the deal without having to seek shareholder approval. So while the annual general meetings of the two lenders — coming up this week — are expected to hear many angry voices, shareholder impact will be limited.

Important shareholder Norges Bank Investment Management, the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, has announced it will vote against the reelection of several Credit Suisse directors, including chair Axel Lehmann.

Separately, the Financial Times reported on Saturday that UBS has a short list of four management consultants to advise on integrating Credit Suisse. The bank is soon to decide between Bain & Company, the Boston Consulting Group Inc., McKinsey & Co Inc and Oliver Wyman Inc, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the process who weren’t identified. 

It’s expected to be one of the most lucrative contracts in years for dispensing financial services advice due to the complex, years-long process needed to meld the banks, according to the report.

UBS, Bain, BCG, McKinsey and Oliver Wyman didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside of ordinary office hours. 

–With assistance from Thomas Seal.