Swiss Julius Baer Group AG announced it was launching a cost-cutting program aimed at reducing its expenses by 100 million Swiss francs (approximately €114 million).

The Zurich-based bank said the program's measures include "enhancing market focus and related prioritization of resource allocation, leveraging automation and digitalization, and applying stricter performance management." A planned 2% reduction of the workforce will be conducted by the end of 2019.

"Julius Baer ended 2018 with stable profit and robust net new money growth − and we did so in an environment that was challenging for the entire industry. We continue to make strategic growth investments and have initiated a structural cost reduction programme to absorb revenue fluctuations from potential market headwinds over the short to medium term," CEO of the bank Bernhard Hodler said in a press release.