(16 April 2012 – Europe) The Zurich-based bank Credit Suisse is rumoured to announce cuts of up-to 5,000 jobs from its investment banking unit when the bank reveals its impending first-quarter results, according to a Swiss newspaper.The Sonntag newspaper cited a senior staffer as saying that the bank “is simply completely oversized” and that the bank could cut up to as many as 5,000 jobs.
The bank is due to report first-quarter results on April 25.
Numbers from the end of 2011, revealing a staffing of 20,900 employees, indicate that the bank continued to increase staff throughout the year, ending with 200 more employees than at the beginning of 2011.
Staff count at the whole bank was largely stable even after two rounds of cuts eliminated 7 percent of the bank’s overall workforce, or 3,500 jobs.
Pressure and shareholder criticism is mounting against the bank and its chief executive, Brady Dougan, about the cost and size of the bank, possibly inspiring the rumoured cuts.
A spokeswoman for the bank did not want to comment or confirm the report.