UBS is replacing its long-standing Swiss IT infrastructure partner with India-based HCLTech, a move that insiders say is driven by cost and could put dozens of local jobs at risk.
UBS has decided to hand over the provision and maintenance of its large server infrastructure in Switzerland to HCLTech, a global technology services group headquartered near New Delhi. The previous supplier, Computacenter, is a UK-listed company that has operated a major site in Dietikon, near Zurich, for decades and built up a significant local workforce largely thanks to contracts with UBS and its predecessor Credit Suisse.
The change is linked to the ongoing integration of Credit Suisse into UBS. As former Credit Suisse customers are migrated onto UBS systems, some legacy data centres are being shut down. However, the old Credit Suisse computer centre at Üetlihof, at the foot of Zurich’s Uetliberg, will remain in operation. UBS is moving many servers that previously ran in its Altstetten data centres to the Üetlihof site.
Until now, those systems have been maintained by Computacenter staff. Under the new arrangement, those employees are expected to keep the old infrastructure running while simultaneously training their successors from HCLTech, according to the report.
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An unnamed source spoke to the local financial blog and said, “Presumably, costs were the deciding factor. UBS has long been trying to push its IT spending ever lower.” Both UBS and Computacenter declined to comment.
Given Computacenter’s long-standing role in supporting UBS and Credit Suisse in Zurich, industry observers would expect the loss of the core server services contract to affect at least dozens of positions across the Dietikon and Üetlihof operations, even if some staff are redeployed or absorbed by HCLTech. The report does not specify whether HCLTech plans to hire locally or shift work to India.
3,000 New IT Jobs In Hyderabad, India?
The switch to HCLTech fits a wider pattern in UBS’s post-merger strategy. The bank recently announced plans to create around 3,000 new IT jobs in Hyderabad, India, as it expands its technology footprint there. At the same time, UBS has been cutting thousands of roles in Switzerland and Europe as part of the Credit Suisse integration, with management repeatedly stressing the need to reduce costs and simplify the IT landscape.
HCLTech describes itself as a global technology company with more than 220,000 employees active in over 50 countries, serving clients in financial services, manufacturing, life sciences, telecoms, retail and other sectors. By appointing HCLTech as the core provider for all server services in its Swiss home market, UBS is effectively outsourcing a critical part of its domestic infrastructure to an offshore-led vendor.
UBS Switches To Indian IT giant HCLTech: What Is Known For Sure?
What is clear from the reporting:
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UBS has chosen HCLTech to take over the provision and maintenance of its server infrastructure in Switzerland.
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The previous main supplier, Computacenter, will lose this core contract.
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The decision is connected to the Credit Suisse integration and ongoing efforts to lower IT costs.
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UBS and Computacenter have not publicly commented on the change or on any job impacts.
