UBS Firing, Fannie and Freddie Hiring

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the boys and girls of the Swiss banking giant known as UBS, new CEO Oswald Grubel says the firm's going to sack another 7,500 (roughly 20 percent of what's left of the bank's employees) amid more losses and billions in withdrawals from its wealth management unit (the one under scrutiny for its tax evasion scheming). The latest layoff round at UBS is yet another blow to a bank that had, until the credit crisis hit and the cards began to fall, been on a meteoric rise in prestige and market share.

Amid all the layoff announcements as of late, this comes as (sort of) good news: there are several open positions at both Fannie Mae and her little bro Freddie Mac. Note, though, there are some requirements for these slots:

Must be willing to join a firm that may merge, crumble or implode any day now. Must be open to be paid well under market because every penny spent on keeping employees will be subject to intense governmental scrutiny. And must be willing to be on the receiving end of random harangues at local watering holes and other public areas for being employed at an institution more than partly responsible for a little thing now commonly referred to as the worldwide financial crisis.