UBS is to shed a further 10 per cent of its investment banking workforce in a fresh wave of cuts that will penetrate deeper and range more widely than previous cost-saving initiatives by the Swiss bank.

Between 1,900 and 2,000 job cuts from the investment banking unit’s 19,000 global workforce are being targeted by the end of this year, according to people with knowledge of the plans. UBS has already announced 4,000 cuts in its investment bank since the onset of the credit crisis. The new swathe of job losses could feel more painful than previous rounds that concentrated on cutting dead wood. At its peak, UBS staff numbered 23,000.