Morgan Stanley to lay off 2,000 employees to reduce costs
What's the story
Morgan Stanley, one of the biggest names on Wall Street, is reportedly looking to lay off as many as 2,000 employees later this month.
This was reported by Reuters, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter.
The layoffs are expected to account for a reduction of around 2-3% of the company's global workforce (excluding financial advisers) and are intended to improve operational efficiency.
Staff reduction
Morgan Stanley's global workforce and layoff rationale
As of end-2024, Morgan Stanley had a global workforce of over 80,000 employees.
The decision to lay off staff is not driven by current market conditions, reported Reuters.
Goldman Sachs, a rival of Morgan Stanley, has fast-tracked its annual performance review process and plans to cut its workforce by 3-5%.
Bank of America has also made cuts, axing 150 junior banker roles within its investment banking division.
These moves are viewed as preparations for an unpredictable economic future.
Performance impact
Morgan Stanley's job cuts linked to performance and location changes
According to Bloomberg, some of the job cuts at Morgan Stanley are performance-related while others are due to changes in the locations where the bank employs some of its staff.
Despite the layoffs, co-president Daniel Simkowitz said at a conference on Tuesday that new equity issues and mergers/acquisitions are "certainly a bit on pause, or the bar is high because of some policy uncertainties."