UBS is set to fall short of its internal job-cutting targets as the bank continues its complex integration of Credit Suisse, two years after the state-backed rescue deal that reshaped the Swiss banking sector.
According to media reports and people familiar with the matter, executives had hoped to reduce the workforce to around 85,000 by the end of 2026, down from a peak of 119,000 employees following the takeover. As of June 2025, UBS continues to employ more than 105,000 staff, despite eliminating approximately 14,000 roles over the past two years.
The pace of reductions has slowed sharply. While more than 3,500 jobs were cut per quarter in the second half of 2023, the bank has averaged only about 1,300 cuts per quarter since early 2024. Analysts say the deceleration reflects both operational constraints and unexpectedly low staff attrition.
UBS had historically seen about 7% of its employees leave voluntarily each year, but departures have dropped below that level, making natural downsizing more challenging to achieve. The slowdown in attrition has further complicated UBS job cuts, forcing the bank to rely more heavily on restructuring measures.
One reason for the delay is technical: UBS is still migrating over one million Swiss retail clients from Credit Suisse’s platforms. Until that process concludes, scheduled for March 2026, the bank will not be able to fully decommission its legacy systems or eliminate overlapping functions.
Executives stress, however, that headcount is not the main priority. “We are working towards cost targets, not headcount numbers,” UBS said in a recent statement. By mid-2025, the bank had already delivered $9.1 billion in gross savings, about 70% of its $13 billion goal for 2026. Those savings have come from shutting down half of its servers, scrapping more than 1,000 applications, and consolidating operations globally.
Chief Financial Officer Todd Tuckner recently told analysts that the remaining cuts would be made “half-and-half” between technology savings and staff-related expenses. UBS has also emphasized that most reductions will be achieved gradually, through attrition, early retirement schemes, and redeployment into internal vacancies.
Despite the slower-than-expected headcount decline, analysts view UBS as broadly on track with its cost strategy. The bank has prioritised filling vacant roles with internal candidates; more than two-thirds of Swiss jobs last year went to existing employees, and it has promised to keep forced layoffs as limited as possible.
The integration of Credit Suisse is one of the largest banking restructurings in recent history, and the coming year will be critical. With client migrations set to wrap up by spring 2026, UBS will finally be in a position to dismantle its remaining legacy systems and potentially accelerate the workforce reductions that have so far lagged behind.
