Morgan Stanley recently reported a decline of 20% in profits to $2.8 billion in the first three months of 2023.
American multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley is reportedly planning to eliminate 3,000 more jobs globally by the end of the second quarter. Bloomberg, which was the first to report about the bank’s latest layoffs, reported that the investment giant’s second layoff in the last six months would impact roughly 5% of the staff excluding the wealth management division.
The layoff decision by the financial institution, which had more than 82,000 employees as of March end, would impact nearly 4% of Morgan Stanley’s overall workforce. According to a Reuters report, slow dealmaking and a tough economic environment are prompting Morgan Stanley to reduce its headcount. The financial services giant had laid off around 1,600 employees in December, impacting about 2% of its workforce then.
The investment bank recently reported a decline of 20% in profits to $2.8 billion in the first three months of 2023 amid a slowdown in global mergers and acquisition advising. The company’s total revenue was down nearly 2% to $14.5 billion in the quarter ended March due to a decline in investment banking activity, Reuters reported.
The cloud of uncertainty has been hovering over Wall Street’s banks amid rising interest rates, a slowdown in initial public offerings due to a grim global economic outlook, and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Previously, Citigroup reportedly laid off 1% of its workforce in March, impacting over 2,000 employees. In February, JPMorgan was also reported to have laid off hundreds of mortgage employees. Another Wall Street investment giant Goldman Sachs eliminated 3,000 jobs in January after a tough year for dealmaking activity.
Not just the banking sector, the layoff wave has hit several other sectors including the tech sector. In the past, many tech companies including Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta, Sundar Pichai-led Alphabet, Elon Musk-led Twitter, Satya Nadella-led Microsoft, and Andy Jassy-led Amazon, among others, have laid off thousands of employees in an attempt to gear up for a global economic slowdown. Entertainment major Walt Disney, electric carmaker Lucid, American ride-hailing company Lyft, job listing site Indeed, and more have also trimmed their workforce.
