UBS Group AG UBS is planning to cut jobs in France amid the country's sluggish economic growth and ongoing efforts to integrate Credit Suisse (“CS”) following its acquisition in June 2023, per a Bloomberg report.

A spokesperson from UBS said, “Due to a less favorable market environment and after the integration of Credit Suisse earlier this year, UBS is considering a restructuring of some its business activities.”

Rationale Behind UBS’ Plan to Cut Jobs

The French economy is facing significant challenges, with the country’s business confidence dropping sharply in December. According to data from France’s national statistics agency, the French economy is expected to grow only 0.2% per quarter during the first half of 2025. While the weak economic condition of France remains a key factor behind UBS’ job cuts, the ongoing integration of CS also plays an important role.

Although UBS has emphasized that the integration process has been smoother than expected, merging the two banking giants still requires significant operational adjustments. As part of this effort, UBS is re-evaluating its global operations, with France being one of the regions under review.

Despite the uncertainties, UBS has expressed its commitment to working closely with its employees to minimize the impact of the proposed changes. UBS informed that the bank’s plan to cut jobs is being presented to its works council and measures to support the affected staff were to be developed in collaboration with employee representatives.

UBS’ Prior Job Cut Decisions After Acquiring CS

In August 2023, UBS stated its plan to lay off around one in 12 employees in Switzerland to reduce costs by more than $10 billion by 2026.

In April 2024, UBS announced its plans to cut jobs in five separate waves, with the first wave starting in June. The remaining waves took place in August, September, October and November 2024. Overall, UBS expects to fire 50-60% of former Credit Suisse employees. This news was reported by Reuters, which cited the SonntagsZeitung newspaper.

Deutsche Bank’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Over the past three months, UBS shares have gained 0.9% on the NYSE against the industry’s decline of 5.2%.

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Currently, UBS carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Banks Taking Similar Steps

In May 2024, Barclays PLC BCS commenced job cuts across the investment banking and research division, per people familiar with the matter. This move aligns with BCS’ £2 billion cost-cutting program to boost profitability. 

In March 2024, $Citigroup Inc(C-N)$. C announced its plans to lay off 286 New York City-based employees, according to three notices that the company filed with the State Labor Department. This is in line with the C’s plans to shed 20,000 positions by 2026 as it continues its largest revamp in a decade and a half.

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