what's happening in my world

I'm afraid it's going to be a long week...

By Brett Philbin 
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Apr 16, 2009 

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--UBS AG (UBS) plans to cut roughly 2,000 jobs in its U.S. wealth-management business, according to people familiar with the situation.

The layoffs, expected to occur next week, are part of the Swiss bank's plans to reduce its headcount globally by 8,700 and cut operating costs by 15%. Both measures were announced by new Chief Executive Oswald Grubel at the bank's annual meeting in Zurich on Wednesday.

The cuts in the U.S. are expected to include some lower-producing financial advisers, rookie brokers and support staff, the sources said.

Last Thursday, UBS Wealth Management U.S. head Marten Hoekstra discussed pending job cuts during a conference call with employees. Hoekstra said that despite the layoffs, UBS has no plans to exit the U.S. wealth-management business.

In the U.S., UBS had 8,182 financial advisers at the end of the fourth quarter.

In March, UBS said it would sell up to 55 of its 406 U.S. wealth-management branches to Stifel Financial Corp. (SF). The branches, located in 24 states, include about 320 financial advisers with approximately $15 billion in assets under management. They are mainly lower-producing UBS offices concentrated in smaller towns.

Shares of UBS recently traded up 21 cents, or 1.9%, at $11.44.

 -Brett Philbin, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5393; brett.philbin@dowjones.com