Swiss bank UBS to cut 9,000 jobs

ZURICH, Switzerland, April 15 (UPI) -- Swiss bank UBS said it would cut 9,000 jobs by the end of the year to make up for losses that continued in the first quarter.

The largest bank in Switzerland, which is partly owned by the government, said it lost $1.8 billion in the first quarter, following a loss of $19 billion in write-downs in 2008, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

UBS Chief Executive Officer Oswald Grubel, who started his job in February, said at the firm's annual general meeting, "It will be a long road back to success without any quick fixes."

"Rather, we will move forward step by step in a rigorous and disciplined manner," he said.

The bank had already announced 11,000 job cuts since the its fortunes began to unwind at the start of the financial crisis.

Currently, the bank employs 76,200 people in 50 countries, the Times said. Many of the new cuts will be in the firm's investment bank unit, which suffered huge losses during the subprime mortgage meltdown last year.