UBS announces massive lay-offs

GENEVA - The Associated Press

REUTERS photo

Swiss banking giant UBS has announced massive layoffs of 10,000 employees to drastically shrink its ailing investment bank.

Switzerland’s biggest bank says it is “likely to have a headcount of around 54,000” by 2015, down from its current 64,000 employees in 57 countries.

Chief executive Sergio Ermotti announced the plans Tuesday as part of the Zurich-based bank’s third-quarter results.

Ermotti said the investment unit, which has been hit by a series of costly blunders in recent years, will “continue to be significant global player in its core businesses.”