UBS to cut 3,500 jobs worldwide

Swiss banking group UBS has announced it is to cut 3,500 jobs globally as part of its cost savings programme. Some 45% of the job losses will fall on its investment bank. The move was widely anticipated after the banking group announced plans last month to find 2bn Swiss francs ($2.5bn, £1.5bn) of annual savings. The bank said it would meet its savings target by 2013 through redundancies and natural attrition, as well as via rationalisation of its properties. Last month, UBS reported a 49% drop in quarterly profit - worse than expected - after business was hit by weaker trading and the high value of the Swiss currency. Since then, the Swiss franc - a popular haven for investors worried by poor growth prospects in the US and Europe - has strengthened even further. UBS expected the restructuring to result in upfront costs of 550m Swiss francs. "Of the expected... redundancies, approximately 45% will come from the investment bank, 35% from wealth management and Swiss bank, 10% from global asset management, and 10% from wealth management Americas," the bank said in its statement.