– Ermotti: Will treat all UBS and CS employees fairly
The new UBS CEO wrote to Credit Suisse employees. The Ticino announces changes and difficult decisions.
The new UBS boss Sergio Ermotti prepared the employees for cuts before the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS: There will be changes and difficult decisions, Ermotti wrote in a message to the CS employees on Thursday.
The 63-year-old from Ticino had only taken over his position as CEO from Ralph Hamers the day before the general meeting. A week ago, the Board of Directors surprisingly appointed him the new CEO. “Although it is too early to speculate regarding what the joint venture will look like, you can rest assured that we will treat all employees at both CS and UBS fairly,” said the letter, regarding the first the Archyde.com news agency reported.
It is feared that the merger of the two big banks will lead to massive cuts in staff. Thousands of jobs might be lost.
Ermotti asks for patience
“I know you’ve all been through a lot over the last few weeks and months and I would like to continue to ask for your patience while we plan the next steps. With the forthcoming integration, we are not simply creating an even larger company out of two. Rather, we are pooling resources and talent to build a new UBS that is greater than the sum of its parts,” Ermotti wrote.
At the same time, the UBS boss warned that one should not be too distracted by the integration process. “It is crucial that we continue to focus on supporting our customers and maintaining operations.” This is the only way to preserve the value of both banks.
Too early for statements regarding jobs
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors Lukas Gähwiler had said at the UBS General Meeting the day before that it was simply too early to speculate regarding the jobs: “First of all, both banks must be continued and integrated in the coming years. This is a Herculean task that will require more people rather than fewer in the short term. In the medium term it is clear that we will have to weigh up various options. And in the long term it is also clear that there will be synergies,” said Gähwiler, who himself worked at Credit Suisse from 1990 and 2009.
Although CS was able to be stabilised, there is still a great deal of uncertainty before the transaction is completed. We therefore want to conclude this as quickly as possible. “This will take a few weeks at best, but probably a few months. For that you need some rest. Many a well-intentioned suggestion of what else might be done tends to lead to unnecessary uncertainty, »said Gähwiler.
SDA/fal
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