Morgan Stanley to cut 1,500 jobs to trim expenses

Source: Economic Times India

7 May, 2008, 0259 hrs IST

NEW YORK: Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest US investment bank, has started cutting about 1,500 positions in the US to trim expenses amid further market turmoil, a person familiar with the plan said on Tuesday.

The job cuts are the latest to sweep Wall Street as investment banks have been reeling from the global credit crisis that began last summer. Massive losses in mortgage-backed securities and other risky investments has caused global banks to write down more than $ 200 billion.

Morgan Stanley plans to cut 1,500 positions from its payrolls, which represents about 5 per cent of total employees, according to a person familiar with the plan who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly. The reduction will come mainly from back-office jobs, asset management and its institutional business, though retail positions such as broker will be left untouched.

"We are constantly evaluating business conditions to ensure we are right-sized for the environment," said bank spokesman Mark Lake.

He said the company, which has about 47,000 employees worldwide, continues to hire for jobs in key areas such as emerging markets.


Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/International_Business/Morgan_Stanley_to_cut_1500_jobs/articleshow/3016934.cms

Same old story. Same old song and dance, my friends.

But hey! Let's all be Hap Hap HAPPY that we only lost 20,000 jobs this month instead of 75,000!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPEEEEE!!!

1.20.09 cannot come soon enough. Actually, a people's revolt against the wealthy cannot come soon enough. But that would require Dumberica to leave their comfort zones. So that'll never happen.

Cogs in the credit and housing bubbles, they were willing players in the funny money games that have gutted real estate, banking, the dollar and our economic future.

While they weren't architects of the disaster, they certainly helped put it in motion. And the pain has barely begun to be felt!