Even as Wall Street's storied investment houses struggle to get back on their feet, cost-cutting and layoffs may be hurting their ability to recover quickly from financial turmoil. Many of the best and the brightest have already seen the writing on the wall and lit out for brighter territory, while those left behind may be so demoralized they are underperforming while awaiting another round of expected layoffs.
In a story in the City section of the Times on Sunday (you might have missed it because that section doesn't get delivered to the Hamptons, where you have to read the Long Island news instead), former UBS mortgage analyst Andrew Slutsky explains the problem. "People were like, 'Why bother working if I know I'm getting laid off?'" Slutzky says. "You remember senior week of high school? You don't really do anything. You just kind of hang out. We'd reminisce about the boom days."
Reminiscing is not a trading strategy, and Andrew is not the first person from whom we've heard this description. If Wall Street's boom times are dominated by men acting on "animal spirits," these days (to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen), many Wall Streeters have ended up like a dog that's been beat too much.
Things are so bad that many aren't sure whether it's worse to keep a job or lose one. "The funny thing about getting laid off, having worked in this doom-and-gloom environment for the past couple of years, is that you don't know who the winners and the losers are," Andrew says.
(As an aside: Thanks for shout-out, man. Drop us a line if you want to write more about your life after the layoff.)
Wall Street Blues [New York Times]
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 1:13PM
Slutsky? This story is clearly fabricated.
Posted by Anal_yst , Jul 21, 2008 1:24PM
$500/week for doing nothing is starting to sound like a better and better alternative by the day
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 1:34PM
hate to be Slutsky's sister, wife, daughter or mom.
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 1:34PM
yeah man, thanks for the shout out, man
lets go burn one down
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 1:58PM
a 30m year old dude w/ no kids who work=ed directly w/ the sub prime crap isn't a very sympathetic character IMO. How about the 40 year old w/ 3 kids who work on the st for 15 years in an unrelated area?
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 2:12PM
sounds like there's going to be a bull market in chronic
early indicator: five-fold increase in xbox live accounts named "Gordon Gekko", "g0rd0n g3kk0", "g0rd0n g3xx0r" or a variant thereof
I'm going long on the Mid-Grade Cess futures for March 09 delivery in Hoboken.
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 2:22PM
@2:12
Thanks for the tip. I'd hedge my own (short) exposure via the July 25 contract and roll (pun unintented) my exposure as needed. If I didn't have to look for a job...
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 2:28PM
2:12 that is probably the most astute thing said on this here site...
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 3:12PM
The layoffs have just begun, it's going to get worse.
(IMO - the ones layed off will turn out to be the winners long-term...)
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 4:11PM
all slackers end up on welfare. even the pedigreed ones.
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 5:17PM
mortgage analyst?
what a tosser, good luck finding a new job
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 6:25PM
Plug being pulled on Fund Linked derivatives businesses all over the show. Some banks not lending to anyone they havent done busness with before others just not lending. Some European Banks told by their central bank they may not lend to leverage business.
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 7:01PM
Life's too short to waste sticking around in an environment of negativity and gloom. Get the hell out and do something with passion.
Posted by trojan , Jul 21, 2008 7:22PM
@6... Hoboken? really? try purps from Humboldt county. worth the effort and freight fees.
Posted by guest , Jul 21, 2008 8:31PM
Hey, Andrew, you're one of the lucky ones. The atmosphere inside is lethal, with panicked middle managers turning up the control tactics on poor peons who'll get the ax anyway. Leave the past alone and go get yourself something far away from financial. You didn't lose a thing.