Credit Suisse workers desperately looking for new jobs, claim headhunters in different countries

The sudden collapse of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse has sent shockwaves through financial markets, and job markets too. Recruiting firms across different continents are getting numerous calls from bankers from the embattled bank after the news of its takeover by UBS Group AG surfaced on Monday. 

According to a report in Bloomberg News, recruiters and rival banks from Singapore to London to New York have been getting emails and calls from present Credit Suisse workers.  One such firm in Singapore, told Bloomberg, that it handled calls around 30 calls on Monday, which were mostly from Credit Suisse private bankers. Another recruiter in Hong Kong said it was talking to more than 20 senior investment bankers who were looking to change jobs. The report said many senior officers were looking to change jobs, especially in the wealth segment. 

A recruiter in London said that it has received hundreds of calls over the weekend, particularly from those in the equities division of Credit Suisse as the overlap is expected to happen with existing business at UBS. 

One headhunter in New York said that around a thousand employees of Credit Suisse were hoping to join Credit Suisse First Boston, which is an investment-banking spinoff of the embattled bank under its restructuring efforts.  

But the plans are not likely to happen as many will be hoping to join UBS, while many are still clueless about what will happen to their roles, Michael Nelson, managing director at recruitment firm Quest Group in New York, told Bloomberg News.  

Takeover deal and job cuts 

On Sunday, UBS Group said it would buy Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion to stop further disruption in the global banking system. 

The acquisition, brokered by the Swiss authorities, was finalised after Swiss National Bank first attempted to save Credit Suisse by lending $54 billion. This move failed to instil confidence in investors and customers. 

But the $325 billion deal has been criticised by bondholders and others for the losses incurred. 

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that UBS’s rescue plan for Credit Suisse may result in loss of tens of thousands of job cuts as the Swiss financial sector is under tremendous stress due to the sudden takeover. 

Credit Suisse’s domestic business in Switzerland and its investment bank arm collectively employ more than 30,000 workers. At the global level, by the end of 2022, the bank employed over 50,000 people. The bank has already slashed 4,000 positions so far this year. 

The FT report said that a third of the 120,000 jobs in the newly formed group might be under risk in the takeover deal as UBS might close some of the roles in the investment bank and remove overlapping roles in the combined entity.  

UBS employs 74,000 staff globally and experts feel that will close overlapping Credit Suisse roles in Switzerland, close branches, and reduce staff in administrative positions to cut additional costs. 

In a note, Switzerland’s Bank Employees’ Association said the takeover has put thousands of jobs under threat. The scale is worrisome as the banking sector might not be able to absorb the excess workers due to recession fears. 

The FT report said that in a call with analysts on Sunday night, UBS chief executive Ralph Hamers said they would try to remove $8 billion of costs a year by 2027, where they would cut $6 billion by reducing the headcount, and another $2 billion on IT spending.

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