Swiss bank to cut 8,700 jobs

UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, has said it will cut 8,700 jobs worldwide by the end of next year, after reporting first quarter losses.
UBS said on Wednesday it would need to shrink its workforce in order to reduce costs, after its losses reached about $1.75bn for the first three months of this year.
The bank, which has been hit hard by the financial downturn, said it will "adapt its size to the changed market conditions and lower levels of business.''
It said the bank would reduce the number of its employees from 76,200 to 67,500 in 2010.
The latest round of cuts comes on top of 11,000 job cuts which were announced in October 2007.
Oswald Gruebel, UBS chief executive, said the bank will take time to recover from the economic crisis.
"You should not assume that this will bring about a marked improvement in our results as early as the next few quarters. Our outlook remains cautious and we face many uncertainties," he told the bank's annual general meeting.
UBS has suffered billions of dollars of losses over the past two years and received a bailout from the Swiss government.
World stocks fell on Wednesday as news of the job cuts raised concern among investors.
The bank's shares also fell 8.7 per cent at opening, but gained ground at 0800 GMT, trading down 2.6 per cent.