Switzerland's second-biggest bank has decided to cut costs in the Italian-speaking part of the country, by closing branches and moving jobs closer to its headquarters.
Credit Suisse (CS) has nine branches in the Italian-speaking Ticino region of Switzerland. The bank has now decided to close two of them by the end of June, «ticinonews» reported on its website on Thursday.
The two branches are based in Giubiasco and Roveredo. The closures are part of cost-cutting measures announced last year, CS told finews.ch. The program made public by CEO Tidjane Thiam has a volume of 3.5 billion Swiss francs.
Drop in Transactions at Branches
A further reason given for the closures are the rapid decline in transactions conducted at bank branches. The staff employed at the two branches will receive new jobs in Bellinzona starting July 1, 2016.
CS is also reducing the headcount in the region by 10, according to «ticinonews». Some employees will be offered early retirement, the rest of the jobs will be moved to the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
The bank employs a total of 800 people in the Ticino region and has been present in the southern-most canton of Switzerland for more than 100 years.
