Banks / Job cuts amount to near 160,000

Major banks have announced about 160,000 job cuts since early last year and with more layoffs to come as the industry restructures, many will leave the shrinking sector for good as redundancies outpace new hires by roughly two to one.

A Reuters analysis of job cuts announced by 29 major banks showed the layoffs were much bigger in Europe than in Asia or the US. That is a particular blow to Britain where the finance industry makes up roughly 10% of the economy.

The tally of nearly 160,000 is likely to be a conservative estimate as smaller banks and brokers are also cutting staff or closing down, and bigger banks have not always disclosed target numbers of layoffs. The number also does not include reports of 6,000 job cuts to come at Commerzbank, for example, which the German group would not confirm last week.

Well-paid investment bankers are bearing the brunt of cost cuts as deals dry up and trading income falls. That is particularly the case in activities such as stock trading, where low volumes and thin margins are squeezing banks.

“When I let go tonnes of people in cash equities this year, I knew most would be finished in this business. It is pretty dead. Some will just have to find something completely different to do,” said one executive at an international bank in London, on condition of anonymity…

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Banks shrink as job cuts near 160,000 | Business | guardian.co.uk.

Related Posts

Germany – Commerzbank – Up to 6,000 jobs cut

Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest bank, is preparing to axe up to 10 percent of its workforce in the coming years, or 5,000-6,000 jobs, the weekly Die Zeit reported on Wednesday. Die Zeit, in a pre-release of an article to appear on Thursday, said Commerzbank is planning billions of euros in cost-cutting across all divisions between now … Continue reading »

Denmark – Danske Bank to cut 3000 jobs

Danske Bank unveiled plans to cut 3,000 jobs and sell 7 billion kroner (€900 million) in shares as Denmark’s largest lender looks for ways to increase its capital buffers. The measures were announced together with Danske’s third-quarter report, showing net income of 1.31 billion kroner, compared with a loss of 384 million kroner a year … Continue reading »

4 Big Banks to Begin New Layoffs

Here are big banks that are or could be planning big layoffs. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC): On Wednesday, BofA announced its intention to cut costs by $3 billion annually in its investment-banking, commercial-banking and wealth-management units. These cuts will happen by 2015. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS): The mega bank also announced Wednesday its plans to cut …Continue reading »

Bank of America – A New Round of Layoffs

Bank of America Corp (BAC: 7.64, +0.16, +2.12%) has been cutting jobs in its commercial banking unit in recent weeks even as it tries to boost the group’s business, people familiar with the situation said, reflecting the bank’s broader struggles to grow in a tepid economy. The job cuts are the latest round in the … Continue reading »

Deutsche Bank to Increase Job Cuts

Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), Europe‘s biggest bank by assets, will cut jobs and review its pay prac­tices to help boost prof­itabil­i­ty as cap­i­tal require­ments rise and Europe’s debt cri­sis drags on. “Com­pen­sa­tion prac­tices are one impor­tant way to achieve … http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-11/deutsche-bank-plans-more-cuts-in-headcount-pay-to-reach-goals.html

Bank of America | More Than 300 Job Cuts

Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the second- largest U.S. lender, plans to cut more than 300 jobs from corporate and investment banking and trading units run by Thomas K. Montag as underperformers are culled from its ranks, according to a person briefed on the matter. The firm will target workers on desks where business has … Continue reading »

Bank of France aiming to cut up to 2100 jobs in branches

Bank of France aiming to cut up to 2100 jobs in branches . . . http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/us-france-bankofrance-idUSBRE88B1DU20120912

Finance – Midlevel Jobs Going Out of Wall Street

New York’s biggest investment houses are shifting jobs out of the area and expanding in cheaper locales in the United States, threatening the vast middle tier of positions that form the backbone of employment on Wall Street. The shift comes even as banks consider deeper staff cuts here, which could undermine the state and city … Continue reading »

Australia | Finance Industry Has Lost 3k Jobs in the first 4 months of 2012

A shocking 3000 jobs have been lost in Australia’s finance industry in the first four months of the year according to the National Secretary of the Financial Services Union. Though the majority of these jobs were lost in the first six weeks of the year, with the announcement from the Australia & New Zealand Banking … Continue reading »

Royal Bank of Scotland | Cuts 215 U.K. Jobs

Bloomberg: Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s largest government-controlled lender, said it was cutting 215 U.K. jobs and moving the posts overseas. The cuts will fall on support staff at the bank’s finance division, mainly in Edinburgh and London, a spokesman said. The reductions are in addition to the 6,800 job losses announced since … Continue reading »