According to multiple internal and external sources, UBS Wealth Management USA has laid off client-service associates in multiple branches in recent weeks as it continues to tighten its belt.
It was unclear how many jobs were affected by the cut, and one industry recruiter suggested that the cuts could continue.
A UBS spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the reports, but stated that any decision to lay off employees would be made by local market heads. “Each market executive is empowered to make the investments necessary to grow their business based on local market needs,” said the spokesperson.
According to multiple internal and external sources, UBS Wealth Management USA has laid off client-service associates in multiple branches in recent weeks as it continues to tighten its belt.
It was unclear how many jobs were affected by the cut, and one industry recruiter suggested that the cuts could continue.
A UBS spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the reports, but stated that any decision to lay off employees would be made by local market heads. “Each market executive is empowered to make the investments necessary to grow their business based on local market needs,” said the spokesperson.
The layoffs are also part of a larger trend of reducing overhead at the Swiss bank’s US brokerage. UBS announced plans in November 2022, which went into effect in January, to reduce the number of market leaders who oversee groups of brokerage branches from around 40 to 20 across both the private and traditional wealth businesses.
It also eliminated a number of branch manager positions in December and gave those who remained the corporate title of market director.
They began at the top and then progressed to the more complex managers. The next step is to go all the way down to the branches and start cutting costs there, which is what you’re seeing right now, according to one former UBS branch manager.
According to one UBS advisor, the firm typically requires brokers to have between $2 million and $2.5 million before it will cover a support staffer’s salary. The person stated that the number had not changed. In the brokerage industry, client-service associates are typically compensated through salaries and bonuses provided jointly by firms and brokers.
According to Bloomberg, UBS Group AG, the US broker-Swiss dealer’s parent, is expected to reduce its workforce by 20% to 30% following the takeover of rival Credit Suisse.
The layoffs are expected to be concentrated in Switzerland and non-US markets where the companies overlapped. Credit Suisse closed its brokerage in the United States in 2016.
