Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse is ramping up its restructuring program in a bid to cut an extra $1 billion in costs. A further 2,000 jobs are now set to go, on top of the 4,000 job cuts announced last month.
Credit Suisse announced on Wednesday that the latest round of job cuts would come from its global markets business.
It said the sector had been hard-hit by “a high and inflexible cost base that was exacerbated by volatile market conditions and lower volumes” in the last quarter of 2015.
Switzerland’s second-largest bank ended last year by posting a massive pre-tax loss for the final three months of 2015.
In a bid to bounce back, the bank has already slashed 2,800 jobs of a total 6,000 lay-offs planned worldwide.
“Our efforts aim at putting Credit Suisse in a position to generate capital and grow profitably in the medium and long term, the bank’s CEO Tidjane Thiam said on Wednesday.
Thiam had already announced a sweeping overhaul of the bank’s operations in October last year, shaving off excesses in its investment banking department and refocusing on its private banking and wealth management units.
Credit Suisse said that despite the job cuts, it still expects to post a loss in the first quarter of 2016, due to charges linked to its restructuring.
hch/cjc (AFP, Reuters)
