NatalieLopez
19 Mar 25
Morgan Stanley plans to lay off approximately 2,000 employees, about 2% to 3% of its global workforce, excluding financial advisers. The goal is to improve operational efficiency and is unrelated to current market conditions. This aligns with a trend of Wall Street firms reducing staff amidst econom...
Wall Street heavyweight Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is set to lay off around 2,000 employees later this month, representing 2% to 3% of its workforce, excluding financial advisers. The goal is to enhance operational efficiency, according to an anonymous source familiar with the matter. As of the end of 2024, Morgan Stanley had over 80,000 employees globally, and the source emphasized that the layoffs were unrelated to current market conditions.
These job cuts align with a trend among Wall Street lenders to reduce staff in anticipation of an uncertain economic environment, particularly following President Donald Trump's recent tariff announcements. Rival Goldman Sachs (GS.N) is accelerating its annual performance review process and planning to trim staffing by 3% to 5%. Additionally, Bank of America (BAC.N) has reportedly eliminated 150 junior banker roles in its investment banking arm.
The news of Morgan Stanley's layoffs was first reported by Bloomberg News, which highlighted that some of the upcoming cuts are linked to performance, while others result from changes in the locations where the bank bases some of its workers. Despite expectations for a robust rebound in capital markets following Trump's election, uncertainty stemming from the president's tariff threats has impeded new equity issues and mergers and acquisitions, as noted by Morgan Stanley Co-President Daniel Simkowitz at a conference on Tuesday.