James Gorman being interviewed in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2016.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Morgan Stanley is cutting roughly 2% of its workforce due to an uncertain global economic outlook, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The job cuts at the investment bank, the world’s biggest equities trading firm and a leading mergers adviser, will hit technology and operations roles hardest, said the people, who declined to be named. New York-based Morgan Stanley had 60,532 employees as of September 30.
Mark Lake, a company spokesman, declined to comment.
In October, the bank posted third-quarter profit and revenue figures that beat analysts’ expectations. The company produced $10.1 billion in revenue, exceeding analysts’ average estimate by approximately $500 million.
During the post-financial crisis era marked by declining trading revenues, Wall Street firms often cut jobs towards the end of the year to avoid paying out bonuses. Morgan Stanley is the first known instance of this, but other firms will likely announce cuts as planning for 2020 continues.
Morgan Stanley shares have climbed 25% this year amid a broad rebound in bank shares.