Morgan Stanley to cut 3,000 more jobs in second round of layoffs: Report

Morgan Stanley, the investment banking giant, is reportedly preparing to slash around 3,000 jobs in its second round of job cuts within a six-month period. The decision comes as the bank grapples with a tough economic environment and a slowdown in dealmaking activity.

The next round of layoffs will take place in the second quarter, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The company had cut 1,200 jobs in December 2022.

It is worth noting that the bank's revenues have been impacted by declining fees from its investment banking unit, which in turn led to a nearly 2 per cent drop in total revenue to $14.5 billion in the most recent quarter. Last month, Morgan Stanley's Chief Financial Officer, Sharon Yeshaya, emphasized the importance of expense management in light of the prevailing market uncertainty and rising inflation.

This year has seen a downturn in deals for Wall Street's investment banks, as investors remain cautious about volatile markets and quickly escalating interest rates. The initial public offering (IPO) market has come to an almost complete halt, with many startups opting to delay their market debuts until investor sentiment improves.

Data from Dealogic reveals that merger and acquisition (M&A) volumes have fallen by nearly 50% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

The upcoming layoffs might impact nearly 4 per cent of Morgan Stanley's workforce, which stood at over 82,000 employees as of the end of March.

Morgan Stanley is not the only investment banker to cut jobs in this downturn. Financial service providers like Goldman Sachs, Barclays, JP Morgan, Citigroup have also laid off thousands of employees in the recent downturn.

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