Credit Suisse staff have been told bonuses and salary increases will still be awarded as planned, despite its takeover by rival UBS.
In an internal memo, the beleaguered bank’s employees were informed that there would be no change to payroll processes, with bonuses and salary payments going ahead as scheduled this Thursday (24 March), followed by pay rises next month (April).
The Q&A-style email stated: “There are no changes to payroll arrangements. We will pay salary and bonus, where outstanding, as per the previously communicated schedule. In many countries, the bonus has already been paid out and we do not expect any changes for remaining jurisdictions.”
In terms of bonuses, the message said: “We will continue to allocate for a 2023 performance bonus for those eligible. We are committed to treat all employees fairly, any bonus plan will be based on both business and individual performance.”
Switzerland’s second biggest bank, which employs 50,000 staff including 5,000 in London, agreed to the £2.7 billion buyout plan designed to stop a global banking crisis over the weekend. It blamed “a situation of falling confidence from clients and institutions” while reassuring workers that there terms of employment remain the same.
The all-staff memo added: “We will continue to honour our obligations and already communicated salary increases will still be effective from April 2023.”
Employees were encouraged to work as normal in the 42-point memo, despite the number of redundancies and subsequent severance packages being unclear.
The email further stated: “We will aim to continue to provide severance in line with market practice and in discussion with our social partners.
“We want to reassure you that we are fully committed to managing this process with transparency and openness, to treating everyone with fairness and respect and to ensure that you are kept up to date as decisions are made to minimise uncertainty and disruption.”
The merger is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
