Swiss bank UBS to cut 2,000 jobs

UBS has been hard hit by sub-prime losses

Swiss bank UBS has said it will cut 2,000 investment banking jobs and will reorganise the unit after being hard hit by sub-prime losses.

UBS said this will help it focus on its strengths and cut costs at a time when its revenue outlook is uncertain.

A day earlier the bank said it expected a profit for the third quarter despite recent market volatility.

The firm has been one of the European finance houses to be hardest hit by the problems in the US housing market.

Dramatic times

The Swiss banking giant has seen write-downs of more than $42.5bn (�23.9bn)following the sub-prime crisis.

The 2,000 job cuts in investment banking, will bring staff to around 17,000 by the end of the year, representing a cut of some 6,000 "since the peak in third quarter 2007", a UBS statement said.

The move would enable the bank to cut costs to a "more sustainable level" as well as "position our core businesses for growth once fundamentals improve," said Jerker Johansson, chief executive of the firm's investment bank.

Its investment unit will also stop dealing in commodities except for precious metals.

The reorganisation has stemmed from "the ongoing crisis in the financial markets and dramatically changed industry dynamics", it said.

Brighter future

At an extraordinary shareholder meeting on Thursday, UBS said it had cut down its investment in commercial and residential-linked assets and said the firm's outlook was improving.

The bank predicts a small profit for the third quarter, after six successive quarters of losses. Its quarterly figures are due on 4 November.

"We want to be an accepted industry leader again," said UBS chairman Peter Kurer on Thursday.

"We will work hard and with humility on these ambitious objectives."

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