A new organizational structure, intended to speed up decision making, is being introduced in Asia, with other regions to follow.
UBS has begun cutting jobs at its wealth management unit in Europe and Asia, with as much as 20 percent of its workforce in European regions and management layers in Asia affected.
The round of cuts will affect about 500 employees, with cuts affecting staff at every level, from managing directors to assistants, according to people familiar with the matter. However, staff in the U.S. and Switzerland are less likely to be affected by the cuts, the report said.
In December, UBS announced it would dismantle its ultra-high net worth business, the first major move under new private bank co-head Iqbal Khan, who joined from Credit Suisse in September 2019.
Earlier in January, it said it would be restructuring its private bank and break up its European, Middle East, and African wealth business into three regions to speed up local decision making.