"We are responding to this changed environment and the weakening economic outlook by adapting our business and increasing efficiency"
- Oswald Gruebel, UBS chief executive
Major Swiss banks such as UBS and Credit Suisse are going to make around 7,000 employees redundant, as part of cost-saving measures in order to increase profit, the Der Sonntag newspaper reported Tuesday. UBS is to cut 3,000-5,000 jobs, while Credit Suisse may fire 1,000-2,000 workers. Banks worldwide are implementing cost-cutting measures to meet new capital requirements in times of a sharp global slowdown.
"We are responding to this changed environment and the weakening economic outlook by adapting our business and increasing efficiency," said Oswald Gruebel, UBS chief executive.
"We therefore do not envisage material improvements in market conditions in the third quarter of 2011, particularly given the seasonal decline in activity levels traditionally associated with the summer holiday season, and expect these conditions to continue to constrain our results."
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, fell 1.78 per cent to 6,626.79. The broader Swiss Performance Index lost 1.71 per cent to 6,112.81.
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