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Credit Suisse Readies for More Job Cuts, Financial News Says

(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG is poised to start its next wave of job cuts at Credit Suisse, this time targeting about 10% of support staff, likely in areas such as compliance, risk and marketing, Financial News reported.

The Swiss bank informed employees the reductions will start Nov. 6, the publication said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. A UBS spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

UBS is taking over its longtime Swiss rival in a government-orchestrated deal this year and is paring a combined workforce that swelled to about 120,000. It intends to eventually pare that number by about 30%, Bloomberg News has previously reported. Earlier reductions thinned management, as well as bankers and traders in revenue-generating operations.

The bank has given little guidance to the overall reductions that will accompany the restructuring. Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti has previously said that about 3,000 jobs will be “made redundant over the next years” in Switzerland and the cuts will start from late 2024 or early 2025.

The combined Swiss headcount for UBS and Credit Suisse would have been about 39,000 at the end of last year, according to corporate filings. Ermotti had also signaled additional headcount reductions through voluntary departures. 

Globally, about 8,000 Credit Suisse staff have already left since the beginning of the year, according to Ermotti. That was partly the result of cost reductions initiated by Credit Suisse before it got taken over, with UBS accelerating those measures since. 

(Updates with more details on job cuts in Switzerland and overall headcount.)

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR