Morgan Stanley to Plan 1,600 Investment-Bank Job Cuts

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, plans to eliminate about 1,600 jobs from its investment bank and support staff in coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter said.

No financial advisors will be impacted, but some of the cuts may impact the support areas for the wealth business, a person familiar with the situation said.

The cuts total about 6 percent of the New York-based company’s investment bank and support staff, the person said, asking not to be identified because the decision hasn’t been made public. About half the reductions will be in the U.S. and the rest will affect international employees, the person said.

Morgan Stanley said in December 2011 it would eliminate 1,600 jobs, and dropped about 4,200 employees in the first nine months of last year through job cuts and unit sales. Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, 54, has pledged to reduce costs as return on equity remains below the bank’s cost of capital.

All levels of employees will be affected, and some workers have already been notified, the person said.

Citigroup Inc. said last month it would cut 11,000 jobs and pull back from some emerging-market nations. UBS AG announced in October that it would fire 10,000 workers and largely exit fixed-income trading.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Wirehouses
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING