Report claims Swiss bank UBS to cut 2000

A Swiss newspaper is reporting that UBS, the country’s largest bank, is set to cut some 2,000 jobs in its IT-department as part of a major cost-cutting drive. A UBS AG spokesman on Sunday declined to comment on the report, but referred to an internal e-mail to employees by chief executive Sergio Ermotti saying the bank is still examining all its divisions and therefore “no final decisions have been made.” Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, citing internal documents, reported the bank plans to lay off almost a quarter of its 8,200 staffers in the IT department. It says that is likely to be followed by wider cuts, possibly affecting a fifth of the company’s global workforce of some 12,700 employees. Earlier this week Swiss private bank Julius Baer said it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs. Arabnews