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UBS Said to Widen Job Cuts to 400 at Investment Bank

UBS AG (UBSN) is preparing another round of job cuts across its investment bank in Europe as Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti tries to overhaul the firm, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

UBS is considering cuts in equities and fixed income as it trims its merger advisory staff, bringing total reductions to about 400, or 10 percent of the unit’s front-office employees in the region, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the review is private. The cuts are part of plans to pare back headcount globally, said one of the people.

Ermotti, 52, said in a memo to staff last week he will take “all actions necessary to tackle the current challenging market environment and paradigm shift” in banking and will continue “remodelling” UBS. The Zurich-based firm, which said last year it would trim about 1,600 jobs at the unit, has already reached the staffing goal it set for the end of 2013 as the bank shrinks its securities business to concentrate on wealth management.