In an open letter to parliament on Monday, the Swiss Bank Employees’ Association (SBPV) demanded that Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and UBS (UBSG.S) suspend their emergency merger employment layoffs.
SBPV managing director Natalia Ferrara has asked lawmakers to consider Credit Suisse employees and prevent job losses until 2023.
“We… call on you to support our proposal for a halt on layoffs by the end of 2023 in parliament,” Ferrara said in the Blick letter on Monday.
“Politicians must take responsibility,” she continued.
Tuesday’s extraordinary session of the Swiss parliament will address last month’s state-sponsored Credit Suisse bailout.
To avert a financial crisis, the government, central bank, and market regulator arranged for UBS to purchase Zurich competitor Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.31 billion).
“Over the past three weeks, many of the approximately 17,000 Credit Suisse and 22,000 UBS employees have been looking at their future with anxiety,” Ferrara added, referring to Switzerland’s personnel figures.
Credit Suisse employs 45,000 worldwide, whereas UBS has 74,000.
“In the public debate around UBS’s purchase of Credit Suisse, there is a lot of talk about numbers, money, regulation, ‘too big to fail’ or bonuses,” Ferrara wrote.
“Yet the two banks’ impacted workers remain a side point.
“Change that.”
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti predicted “change and painful decisions” after last week’s merger.
Tages-Anzeiger stated that the large bank might lose 11,000 Swiss positions by 20%-30%.
UBS says job layoffs are premature.
Ferrara claimed the rescue was not the bank workers’ fault and that UBS’s efforts would take months.
“It is the moment to safeguard and respect the impacted employees of the two banks,” Ferrara wrote.
“Parliament cannot discuss money and technical details of the CS rescue for days during the special session and forget the individuals impacted.”
