Up to 12.000 jobs in Switzerland at risk if UBS moves abroad, union warns

The UBS takeover of Credit Suisse continues to impact the financial sector three years on. Against the backdrop of impending banking reforms, the Swiss Bank Employees Association (SBPV) has warned that relocating UBS abroad could put 12.000 jobs in Switzerland at risk.

Union sounds alarm over potential mass redundancies

The SBPV recently sent a letter to Swiss lawmakers, first published by NZZ am Sonntag and reported by Reuters, expressing that relocating, selling or merging UBS could be detrimental to employees based in Switzerland. Between 10.000 and 12.000 of the bank’s 34.000 Swiss-based jobs could potentially be lost in a "worst-case scenario", adding to the thousands of redundancies already announced in 2026.

The warning comes amidst broader discussions about financial regulation in Switzerland to prevent another crisis. After UBS acquired Credit Suisse, the government grew concerned about the bank’s size and the potential impact on the Swiss economy if it were to collapse.

To prevent this, a committee in the National Council is now set to begin discussing stricter regulation, including substantially increasing the amount of equity capital that UBS must hold to back its foreign subsidiaries. The Council of States has already recommended that UBS maintain much higher capital buffers to protect the domestic economy.

UBS pushes back against strict new capital rules

Shareholders and executives at UBS, while agreeing to participate in the process, have expressed concern about what this could mean for the bank’s global competitiveness.

In UBS’ latest earnings report, the company’s CEO Sergio Ermotti said that they are taking part in the parliamentary process to help achieve "a balance between financial stability and competitiveness", reports Finews. For UBS, the "priority remains protecting the long-term interests of shareholders, clients and employees and promoting sustainable growth".

Shareholders of the Swiss bank have commented that the planned rules are "too much", and UBS chairman Colm Kelleher even went so far as to suggest that the company would "need to carefully consider its future in Switzerland."

Ahead of the government’s discussions, the SBPV explained that UBS should "commit to its Swiss base" and that the government should come to a "viable compromise" that doesn’t restrict the bank too much.