There are reports that between 2,000 - 3,000 UBS London-based staff could lose their jobs in a groupwide restructure which will see 10,000 jobs go by 2015.
The Guardian reports that UBS will axe up to 3,000 jobs in its London offices, in one of the biggest banking bloodbaths since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
The newspaper says that move to halve the Swiss bank's workforce in London is part of the global cull, as UBS dramatically shrinks its troubled investment bank. The division suffered huge losses in the financial crisis and has since been engulfed in scandal, with the biggest rogue trading loss in British history and traders suspended amid a Libor-rigging probe.
In the meantime, The London Evening Standard quotes 'industry experts' who say that the London job loss number is likely to be around 2,000.
One banker told Here Is The City: 'Personally, I think that the 3,000 London job loss estimates are on the high side. Remember, the bank has employees in asset management and private banking in London too, and those business won't be as significantly impacted by the restructure as the investment bank. Whatever way you look at this, however, it isn't good news for the City. Unfortunately there will be a lot more people on the street fighting to get back into an industry that is in structural decline'.
UBS to cut up to 3,000 jobs in London
London in the firing line as UBS takes axe to 10,000 jobs
image: © Theodore Scott
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