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Credit Suisse urged to freeze planned job cuts after takeover
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By Nithya Bose in UK Business News, posted April 11, 2023
A banking trade union has demanded Credit Suisse and UBS halt any planned job losses as part of their emergency merger.
The Swiss Bank Employees' Association (SPBV) has written to lawmakers to consider the futures of employees impacted by the fall of Credit Suisse.
The union also urges the banks halt any job cuts until the end of 2023.
Read More: UBS investors fear job cuts and inflated executive pay after Credit Suisse takeover
Natalia Ferrara, SBPV managing director, said: "We ... call on you to support our demand for a freeze on layoffs by the end of 2023 in parliament.
"Politicians must not shirk their responsibility.”
The Swiss parliament is due to hold an emergency session on Tuesday, April 12, to address the state-sponsored bailout of Credit Suisse last month.
In a deal backed by the government, the central bank, and the market regulator, UBS agreed to acquire Zurich competitor Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.31 billion).
Read More: UBS agrees ’emergency rescue’ of Credit Suisse
The move avoided a collapse in the country's financial system.
Ferrara added: "For the past three weeks, many of the approximately 17,000 employees at Credit Suisse and the 22,000 UBS employees have been looking at their future with uncertainty.”
Credit Suisse employs 45,000 people around the world, whereas UBS has 74,000 employees.
She said: "In the public debate about the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, there is a lot of talk about numbers, money, regulation, 'too big to fail' or bonuses.
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"But the affected employees of the two banks remain only a side note. That needs to change."
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti warned last week the merger would bring "change and hard decisions.”
It was reported that the mega-bank formed could lower its headcount by 20 to 30 percent, with 11,000 people let go in Switzerland.
UBS has said it is too early for speculation about staff downsizing.
Ferrara said it wasn’t the fault of the bank staffers that the rescue was needed, adding it would take months for UBS's plans to succeed.
Source: Reuters
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