Wall Street News: Firms firing up to 18% of Employees
A less likely occurance in the Future?
When the fifth largest investment firm is worth $150 a share one year, the next it is $62, and then over the weekend the Federal Reserve and JP Morgan decide it is only worth $2 a share you know things are not real good.
Nobody is talking about it but that is what just happened. Bear Stearns was just sold over the weekend of March 16th in a rushed sale timed to beat the opening of the Asian stock markets. Paulson even goes on camera stating this was to protect the financial markets and that Bear Stearns had a liquidity crisis. Watch the stammering at about 30 seconds in.
I wonder when people might get interested in these boring financial issues. Maybe when they lose their jobs. Or their best customers or clients lose their jobs. Limo businesses in New York are stating business is down already.
Firms have been quietly letting people go in investment firms on Wall Street since July of 2007.
According to Bloomberg magazine, 35,000 employees have been let go with the worst being Lehman Brothers firing 5,000 or 18% of their workforce.
Some departments have even been hit worse like purely mortgage division at First Franklin that have let 70% of their people go.
The numbers of people that have been let go by the top investment firms since July 2007:
Firm Positions Cut
Citigroup 6,200
Lehman Brothers 4,990
Bank of America 3,650
Morgan Stanley 2,940
Washington Mutual 2,600
Merrill Lynch 2,220
HSBC 1,650
Bear Stearns 1,550
WestLB 1,530
UBS 1,500
Goldman Sachs 1,500*
National City 900
Credit Suisse 820
Royal Bank of Canada 500
Fortis 500
Wells Fargo 500
Wachovia 443
Deutsche Bank 370
JPMorgan Chase 100
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TOTAL 34,463
