UBS boss warns technology could replace 30 percent of workforce
AFP - [email protected]
Published: 4 Oct, 2017 CET.
Updated: Wed 4 Oct 2017 08:32 CET
Swiss banking giant UBS could shed a third of its staff over the next decade as dramatic technological changes help it streamline operations, its chief told Bloomberg in an interview published on Tuesday.
"We see a lot of contraction in the number of people in our industry," UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said in the interview, acknowledging that a large share of the bank's nearly 95,000 employees and contractors could eventually become redundant.
"You can have 30 percent less," he said, pointing out that technological changes would make banking operations "faster -- much more efficient, proficient," allowing a single banker to double his or her client load.
The change, he said, would not happen all at once.
"It's not the Big Bang; it's going to be very gradual," Ermotti said.
While there will surely be fewer jobs, he stressed that those remaining would "be much more interesting jobs, where the human content is crucial to the delivery of the service."
And while technology would help banks like UBS reduce costs, Ermotti pointed out that "you're also going to have to reinvest a lot of your savings to keep your tech capabilities up to speed."
Comments
See Also
"We see a lot of contraction in the number of people in our industry," UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said in the interview, acknowledging that a large share of the bank's nearly 95,000 employees and contractors could eventually become redundant.
"You can have 30 percent less," he said, pointing out that technological changes would make banking operations "faster -- much more efficient, proficient," allowing a single banker to double his or her client load.
The change, he said, would not happen all at once.
"It's not the Big Bang; it's going to be very gradual," Ermotti said.
While there will surely be fewer jobs, he stressed that those remaining would "be much more interesting jobs, where the human content is crucial to the delivery of the service."
And while technology would help banks like UBS reduce costs, Ermotti pointed out that "you're also going to have to reinvest a lot of your savings to keep your tech capabilities up to speed."
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.