UBS FX traders face relocation decision

FX headhunters are already receiving calls from UBS traders looking to jump ship before the bank moves its FX trading operations to Zürich.

"People are very nervous about it," says one. "A lot of these traders live in London with their families and don't want to relocate. It's creating a lot of uncertainty."

Financial News reported this week that a 'significant number' of the 60 FX trading and support staff who are being moved to Zürich in August are preparing to quit the bank.

UBS is shifting the roles to Switzerland in order to increase efficiency. The move will impact spot traders, derivatives traders, and emerging markets traders.

Dominie Moss, an FX specialist consultant at headhunter at Sheffield Haworth, says derivatives structurers at UBS will be the most re-employable. "There's always demand for good derivatives structurers," she says. "Most banks will hire them opportunistically."

By comparison, Moss says any UBS spot traders with itchy feet will find it harder to land an alternative role: "There aren't that many jobs on spot desks at the moment. Most people will be happy to go along and see what happens."