UBS to downsize its investment bank

ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Swiss bank UBS said Friday it would trim its investment bank workforce by an additional 2,000 workers in the wake of a global financial crisis.

"The ongoing crisis in the financial markets and dramatically changed industry dynamics require us to recalibrate our business," UBS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UBS Investment Bank Jerker Johansson said in a statement.

The Investment Bank has cut its workforce by 6,000 over the past year. The latest round of downsizing, which would draw the staff down to 17,000 by year's end, was meant to "position" the bank as "one of the core group of universal banks that are now likely to dominate in this redrawn landscape," Johansson said.

The global landscape for investment banking changed dramatically in the past year with the demise of Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.

Two other investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, didn't fail but asked for reclassification as holding companies.

Since the subprime mortgage crisis began last year, UBS has experienced $42.5 billion in write-downs, the BBC reported Friday.