Layoffs at UBS Wealth Management Larger Than Initially Reported

A mass layoff at UBS Wealth Management is of a much larger scale than reported earlier this month, new reports indicate.

The unit is laying off nearly 200 employees, The Wall Street Journal reports Friday, citing unnamed sources. One area affected is product marketing and development. Savings reportedly will be plowed into into the technology that UBS brokers use, an area identified as a relative weakness.

Most of the layoffs took place in the past two days. About 25 managing directors were affected, according to the WSJ. One high-level departure is Jamie Price, who ran the brokerage force before former Merrill Lynch brokerage chief Robert McCann was brought in to head UBS Wealth Management last October. Price was replaced by Bob Mulholland, another ex-Merrill executive, the Journal says.

Sources told the paper McCann is eliminating positions that "worked at cross-purposes or were duplicative."

Two weeks ago, Dealbreaker published a tip from a reader that UBS Wealth Management was laying off around 300. At that time, a spokeswoman told Connecticut journalist Teri Buhl only about 40 back-office staff were let go.