This Wednesday, UBS announced internally an employment regulation file for the staff of Credit Suisse’s investment banking area in Spain, as well as for a smaller number of employees in other divisions, according to sources close to the process. Those affected are 147.
In addition to dispensing with investment banking, the file includes a smaller number of office employees and some members of the wealth management area. Not all departures will be immediate, since the process can take up to two years.
UBS sources do not comment on this information. “UBS is fully committed to Spain. With the acquisition of Credit Suisse, we have never been better positioned to accelerate our current growth strategy and deepen the potential of our clients,” they indicate.
The layoffs are a consequence of the Swiss National Bank’s bailout and €3 billion acquisition of Credit Suisse in March this year. UBS has a wealth management area in Spain, while the investment banking area was sold to Singular Bank through an agreement in which it committed not to return to the country in the coming years.
Upon announcing the merger with Credit Suisse, UBS already announced its intention to reduce the size of the rescued bank and reduce as quickly as possible all the risks associated with its activity, especially in areas that it does not consider strategic.
At that time, it was already anticipated that the integration could include layoffs. The decision regarding Spain joins other similar ones in other European countries and North America that mainly affect investment banking.
“UBS is working with cost-cutting objectives, not with a specific number of workforce reductions,” the sources indicate. The bank “tries to mitigate the impact on people and considers all options.”
The idea is that, during the layoff process, some Credit Suisse investment bankers will be offered the chance to stay at UBS. It will be a selective group.
