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Facing job cuts, Credit Suisse's presence in North Carolina is uncertain

Credit Suisse
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Flickr

More than two-thousand people work at the Credit Suisse operations center in Research Triangle Park. It's not clear what the Swiss bank's recent troubles mean for its workforce.

As Credit Suisse's losses grew last year, it announced plans to cut 9,000 positions worldwide. With news of the bank's purchase by Swiss rival UBS, Bloomberg reports coming layoffs may be a "multiple" of that figure.

Credit Suisse set up shop in RTP in 2005. In 2017, it revealed plans for an expansion that would include a new building and 1,200 new jobs.

"Raleigh will grow into a second major hub, alongside New York, for Credit Suisse here in the United States," Wilson Ervin, the bank's vice-chairman, said at the announcement.

At the time, the company said it would invest $70 million in its RTP campus. Gov. Roy Cooper's office said Credit Suisse would be eligible for up to $40 million in state incentives if it met certain benchmarks.

CEO Eric Varvel said Credit Suisse decided to expand after North Carolina lawmakers repealed House Bill 2, the controversial bathroom bill.

"We opposed HB2, which was at odds with these core values," Varvel said. "While it was on the books, we chose to halt our expansion plans in the state and consider other options."

UBS has branches in Raleigh and Charlotte to serve its wealth management clients. It established a service center in Nashville, similar to Credit Suisse's RTP operation, in 2013.

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Bradley George