Switzerland wakes to new era after historic bank merger; employees "shocked"

Switzerland awoke on Monday to a new era after UBS agreed to take over the ailing Credit Suisse, with a bank employee association saying it was "deeply shocked".

The Swiss Bank Employees Association, in a statement to Reuters, demanded that UBS keep job cuts to it an "absolute minimum". "The jobs of very many employees are at stake," it said, adding that it was in touch with management.

The statement underscores the sense of unease in Switzerland, with its reputation as a global financial center on the line. "A zombie is gone but a monster is born," read the title of a commentary in the Neue Zuercher Zeitung.