Top Firm Finally Releases New Job Loss Figures

Staff over at UBS have been on tenterhooks since the firm confirmed a few weeks back that it was planning to axe more staff, with the investment bank expected to take the biggest hit. Well, the waiting's over, as the bank came out Tuesday and said that 5,500 group jobs would go, some 2,600 from the investment bank by the end of the year (12% of the unit's current total). The bank currently employs around 83,000 staff throughout the world.

Around 2,000 investment banking jobs have already gone at UBS, following those $37bn mortgage-back securities-related asset writedowns. The latest round of cuts are expected to hit London and New York the hardest, and will include back, middle and front office staff.

UBS also posted its final first-quarter earnings Tuesday, with the loss coming in slightly lower than expected at $10.9bn, after $19bn of writedowns over at the investment bank in the period.

US money manager BlackRock is said to be in discussions with UBS about raising a fund to acquire $20bn of UBS's troubled mortgage-backed securities portfolio at a 25% discount, and then selling it off once the market recovers. Whilst The New York Times reports that UBS is to sell its US municipal bonds division, which is in trouble because of investments in auction rate securities.

UBS shares have risen around 30% over the last month, however, as investors clearly feel that the bank is getting its act together and moving through its crisis.

In the meantime, Bloomberg reports that JPMorgan made at least 50 staff in Bear Stearns' European equity sales and research unit redundant last week. All Bear staff are expected to know whether they will have a job in the new merged investment bank by the end of the month. The smart money now says that some 8,500 Bear Stearns jobs (from the 14,000 total) are likely to go.

The New York Times reports that niche US investment bank Thomas Weisel Partners is to make a further rounds of job cuts over the next two weeks. The additional headcount reductions are expected to take the lay-off total to around 160, or 20% of the firm, since the current market crisis started a few months back.

Finally, Reuters reports that up to 310 staff, or 75% of the total, are likely to lose their jobs over the American Stock Exchange, following its takeover by NYSE Euronext. The cuts are expected to come in support areas, with traders and brokers  thought likely to be safe.