Apparently the bank is currently (as in today) canning employees from “all business groups,” with twelve weeks pay for severance.
Updated: Likely related– Merrill Said to Plan 500 Job Cuts in Trading Division.
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- Use the Bloomberg command
NH BLG_DEALBREAKER <GO>
to access Dealbreaker
about 250 canned in asia and europe.
US?
Was wondering when this news was going to hit. Heard end of last week that they were looking at 10-15% cuts across the organization.
I would have went with a pic of a certain castrated bull…but that’s me.
Fuck Merrill
10 to 15% cut sounds pretty small. the shape they’re in i would have expected more like 30 to 50%.
what departments are most affected? IT and backoffice for sure. How about i-banking (m&a advisory) and s&t? does ken lewis really want to build out those businesses or does he only want the retail brokers?
lower manhattan is already like a ghost town — I think there have been a lot more cuts than anyone wants to admit…
welcome to bofa…damn, I thought they would take the cleaver to kenny’s army, not the herd. this could get really ugly…
@4 this is an additional 15% on top of the big cuts that have already happened..Total cuts are probably in the 25%+ range after this. B of A only wanted the Wealth mgmt group, everything else is expendable.
@4 MER had 60,000 employees on 6/30: 45,000 of which are US. So 15% of the US alone is nearly 7,000 jobs. That is an awful lot of people.
Been through it once myself – they have my sympathy – no schadenfreude her
Been through it once myself – they have my sympathy – no schadenfreude here
@4 MER had 60,000 employees on 6/30: 45,000 of which are US. So 15% of the US alone is nearly 7,000 jobs. That is an awful lot of people.
#8,11
cut out 20-25,000 brokers from that #
what is going on at other banks? why so quiet? i still know people who work in lev fin, real estate and mortgage structuring and i know they do nothing all day. are those guys safe?
Thain did say to expect thousands of cuts. NY Dept of Budget expects 40,000 layoffs on Wall St.
http://www.wallity.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2372036%3ABlogPost%3A419
Kind of surprised they are cutting Europe and Asia – BofA has no traction there.
#12: this is from their Web site – already excludes the FAs (or so I read it)
Employees 2005 2006 2007 2008
Full-Time:
U.S. 43,200 43,700 48,700 45,400
Non-U.S. 11,400 12,500 15,500 15,500
Total(5) 54,600 56,200(7) 64,200(6) 60,900(6)
Non-U.S.Employees 21% 22% 24% 25%
Private Client
Financial Advisors 15,160 15,880 16,740 16,850
@13, I wouldn’t worry. Your friends are safe. If they are doing nothing right now I’m sure that means work will pick up soon. It is the people with a full work load that have to be terrified right now.
Apparently the bank is currently (as in today) canning employees from “all business groups,” with twelve weeks pay for severance.
http://www.wallity.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2372036%3ABlogPost%3A419
Going to get uglier.
@17….This is much worse than 2001-2003, but I think prior to 2001 they had a much larger increase in employment than the run-up to today fiasco. So they’re will be huge lay-offs, but may not be as bad as prior.
merrill just cut “500 traders”– Bloomberg (TV)
@17….This is much worse than 2001-2003, but I think prior to 2001 they had a much larger increase in employment than the run-up to today fiasco. So they’re will be huge lay-offs, but may not be as bad as prior.
@18 – thanks for the laugh.
This is real bad. Thain is running around with his samurai sword chopping people off at the knees. Although these houses do tend to overhire and therefore there is a ton of overlap
and then they also tend to over-fire also
@19′s post: Question: I’m not a banker so I don’t know how/when the bonus numbers are distributed and reported, but are the 2008 numbers the bonuses that have already been paid or the numbers that are anticipated to be paid in 2008? If the former, then those numbers can’t be right.If the latter, then I would argue that the 2009 numbers will still be lower than anticipated by this report.
Are the 12 weeks flat to what first year analysts received in last year’s layoffs?
2008 number: bonus for fiscal year 2008 to be paid out in early 2009.
Expect 60 to 100% cut IF you survive the layoff
How do these layoffs work? Do managers bring those affected into office and tell them in person? Do the affected workers have two weeks to wrap up and leave?
@29…you can let us know when it happens to you
No 29, they bring you in and then kick your arse out into the street immediately. Game over
@29…pink slip in your locker a la Willy Mays Hayes and Wild Thing in Major League
Just the creative destruction of capitalism working as it should. Keeps the economy healthy.
@29:
MGR: I need to see you in the conference room.
PEON: Be right there.
*enters conference room filled with HR personnel*
HR: Sorry but, you’re fired. Turn over your badge (ID card) and gun (blackberry). Your severance is blah, blah blah.
HR: There’s the door. Security will see you out now. You can pick up your box of personal stuff at the security desk tomorrow morning.
Your boss introduces you to a person from HR, and then your boss tells you your services are no longer required. Your boss leaves the room and you talk with HR. Shortly after the meeting you are expected to leave. Your computer access is turned off.
12 weeks is the usually minimum package. They usually give more for longer service. Three years for each year of service is the formula, unless they changed it.
You can claim unemployment from day 1, as you are.
@ 29
The “two weeks notice” thing is largely absent on wall street where man/most have “at-will” contracts, which essentially mean they can fire you (and you can peace out) whenever for whatever reason (which is a gross oversimplification, but I digress)
When it’s your turn to go you get called into an office and escorted out by security. Time to save your spreadsheets and customer lists to google docs. You may be next.
When they can an entire group they call a meeting in a conference room and tell you you’re fired all at once.
You can pick up the contents of your desk in the lobby sometime the next day.
My experience getting canned from ML was from ’02. They call you to a conference room. HR person sitting there with your MD. MD was white as a sheet, looked like he has a gun held to his head.
They put papers in front of you to sign (promising not to sue) in exchange for whatever severance they offer. No signature = no severance. Take it or leave it.
Then I was walked to the door. My coworker had the unpleasant job of packing up my stuff to ship to my home.
The MD and coworker got canned in the next round, about a month later. MD was young guy and had a developmentally disabled daughter, I felt really bad about it.
FUCK THIS IS BULLSHIT. I COME FROM CHEVY’S with some lunch and my fucking boss pulls me into his room.
GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!!!! I THOUGH WE WERE BETTER THAN THIS. FUCKING THAINS fault!!!
-liang man
Bess – I just got the axe. Let’s have lunch. You buy.
Jesus – they won’t even let you get back to your desk to pick up things?
I suppose all that pay comes at a price.
Look, a lot of you people don’t get it. BofA bought MER primarily for the “Thundering Herd”. Fits in completely with retail/consumer strategy. So, they won’t mess with the brokers…yet. Right now, they need SYNERGIES. Where do you get that? in the almost complete overlap (redundancy) between BAC and MER I-banks. Ken L. likes, in order 1) retail, 2) asset mgmt, 3) credit cards, 4) commercial banking, 5) I-banking. He looks at I-banking largely as a necessary evil, thinks I-bankers get paid too much and are too management intensive (ATMs don’t talk back remember). So, get ready for Hurricane Thain. Have what you want to keep packed up, buy a blackberry curve tonight and download your contact list. I’m serious.
It’s not “down sizing”….it’s “right sizing”….
~Employed HR Guy
I got my slip the day ML traded at a record high… It was all down hill for the Bull from there!
When ML bought Wave Securities they started pitching 1/3 of a cent per share to all equity accounts – big thinkers.
The cash equity business is dead.
which groups at merrill got canned?
How many layoffs you ask? Here’s some simple math.
Kenny-boy said last night that he needs 8B in cost savings.
Liberally figure an average bonus of 200K, average salary of 100K and another 100K to cover benefits BB terminal fees etc. At $400K per employee head you’re looking at 20K in layoffs.
Hopefully, that is an upper bound and he finds non-labor resource to squeeze out some cost savings. My guess for total layoffs would be 15K to 20K, some of which will come from the BofA side as well.
What BofA does best is post-acquisition integration. No sentimentality, nobody is safe, very cold-blooded. If they need $7B in synergies, they will get there by the end of January, guaranteed. They will blow a ton of people out of there this quarter, and when they announce 4Q earnings they will say they are on track with integration, and oh, by the way, cutting xx,0000 more bodies (right before bonuses, by the way). The research analysts will cheer, the stock will pop a bit and off they go.
#44 – bloodletting in consulting is only about to begin
Guys on campuses are desperate…
is anyone hiring on campus in business schools?
Guys, consider jobs as private investigators and analysts for security firms. There’s plenty of companies that have been victimized by financial fraud over the last few years. They need help collecting and interpreting the evidence. Some law firms might also be interested growing in this area.
The better job they do, the better chance they can get prosecutions started. The Feds are also understaffed in this area. But it may take a few months before they start picking up hiring for those kinds of jobs (especially FBI).
What about exit interviews? The Perky People Planning Picnics in HR have to have some exit interviews or else they are next.
How much per week is unemployment?
if I survive this round does that mean more bonus for me since fewer people left?
@53
If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
48 – Yeah I agree, BofA is ruthless. Last year-end they fired a bunch of traders & analysts right before bonuses were to be paid. They were given no severance and no pro-rata bonus, nothing. Some people were 15-year employees.
If I was still working at ML (thank god I’m not) I wouldn’t be planning on any severance at all. You’re going to be on your own.
@ 54
Yes there will be less people to split the bonus pool of $0 with.
Job well done!
@54 I like where your head is at.
They fire the front line but HR folks survive. HR is a made up job.
@45
Cash Equities is dead? I work for a middle market Ibank and I cant even breathe most days. Swamped trading cash equities and making great money.
This is an evolutionary shift. Gone are the old “White shoe” Ibanks..there are plenty of others ready to move up the league tables.
@54 you’re a genius!
Unemployment benenfits in NYC are just over $400 a week and it lasts for 6 months. The interent has made this process very user friendly. You need to show up in person to get it started, but once going you can do everything online.
You get taxed on the money, but it helps cover the rent. If you have been working for a few years you have supported this fund so you might as well help yourself.
Welfare Mother Merrill changed. In fact, everything is changing. As Dave Bowie would say, cha cha cha changes…….
Let’s set the record straight:
Unemployment in ny – $405 a week pre-tax; congress extended benefits beyond 26 weeks.
BofA layoffs last year:
1st round 20% of prior year’s bonus, plus severance (nov);
2nd round 10% of prior year’s bonus plus severance (jan);
3rd round (june) – thanks for playing, severance only
Severance = 2 weeks per year of employment, min 10 weeks…
2nd round got BofA$$raped – let go a day before bonuses were announced.
The stock is still down over 50%…
Bank of Arse
Anyone have any idea if ML derivatives folks have been cut?
$405 a week won’t pay the bar tab.
@49- can’t agree more… i’m at a consulting firm and you can tell- our bench keeps growing bigger and bigger.
ABA says there are no jobs for law students and they should have a “back up plan”.
http://endofesq.com/?p=371
no jobs for mbas or lawyers–its back to basics like farming and making things.
or else get a job like a long island railroad conductor.
@ 60
Good for you, sounds like you are at the right shop at the right time.
Make hay while the sun is shining… trust me, it won’t last!
65. yes I was cut today and my area had nothing to do with CDO’s or mortgages but was a dept that was reported to be up 20% this year in Q3 earnings.
Was a big producer but obviously did not play politics enought with my former boss who has such a questionable past it’s amazing he got past merrill HR last year, and is involved in this decision process. Certain cuts of hard working productive employess today had nothing to do with the “we are looking forward”- hr quote of the day, but all about how can I save my ass another day around here.
Meanwhile certain useless deadwood employees who produce nothing and also get paid nothing are sitting pretty today, er well until BofA see’s their production or until enough of us claim discrimination.
Montag is such a disappointment for $90mm for 4 months worth of work. This is his legacy?
Hard working employees suffering from Dow Kim and Stan O’Neils collateral damage hand their bonus to Montag’s bean counters and are out of a job!
70 – did you manage to save up any money while time was good?
@71
Unfortunately not so much.. Wife just had our 2nd kid a year ago and I had just upgraded to a 3BR apt at Battery Park City. The way the market collapsed caught me unexpectedly. I expected another several good years and would love to have retired then.
Most of my networth was tied into the company stock… I went from having a 7 digit net worth to just about nothing after having to come up with some money to pay our mortgage and the family cars.
People make mistakes, and I am owning up to it. If I could have done it differently, I would have just saved up all my bonuses from the good times (high six figure-low 7s) and put them into safe heaven investments. No more of this 401k stuff, we completely messed up the entire US as a nation advocating 401k’s as a proper way for a person to retire and feel good about their future.
MER is dead meat and so are all the high flying big shots that used to/still work there(not much longer though!)
Anyways enough of my rant. Just want to say I have 2 kids to support and I am not sure how I will be able to take care of them. The wife’s Channel bags need to go,she got used to living the good life with me so I pray to G-D that she will not leave me.
of course as much as one can when restricted shares on a 4 year vesting schedule made up 60% of VICP, and the 40% cash was taxed as full payroll. A job is a job right? Atleast if remained employed your new employer could convert your shares to the new company. Those dumped today are being cashed out of shares at the lows for a lump sum less taxes. This a real killer. Would have been nice if they let us keep the shares.
Wonder if HR would give those of us sacked today the same insurance policy they bought for Montag, so that Montag can be paid out his $90mm regardless of the fact the only way this “goldman trading guru” could produce numbers was to cut the very people enabling his bonus pool to grow larger.
What a joke of a company! Pay Stan a parachute fit for a criminal. Hire some ex-Goldman trading guru who really did not want to come back into the markets, and pay him upfront with an insurance policy for ZERO trading production!
71 – I am an average joe making 60k a year so I cannot quite say I feel bad for you, but I had no idea fortune can turn so quickly for someone in your position. I sincerely hope things work out for you and this experience helps you deal with inevitable ups and downs that come in life.
Remember the old rock song “Get Ready”…Cuz here it comes.
Well Get ready for 2009. NBC and CBS announced cut backs of several hundred million dollars from their 2009 budgets
because of an “expected recession and drop in revenue.”
The dominos are starting to fall. Look out.
how many people were cut today?
500 traders to be cut. Out of how many?
will 2009 be worse than 2008? Bonus?
i am totally screwed.
I voluntarily left MER back in 2002 (saved myself the embarrassment of an inevitable firing) when the last round of cost-savings was in. They were still dicks about it. But I was a second-gen MER employee and I am sad to see a once great firm go down like this. I hope my buddies in retail don’t get caught up in this. Good luck to anyone who just did their job and got screwed by E. Stanley.
stan had his own private elevator @ ML hq, what a dick
O”Reilly’s reporter followed him with a camera, what a pompous ass.
Quoted the enormous amount of money he made adn asked if he had anything to say ot the shareholders, the world?
@70
If you are worried she is going to leave you because you no longer can ball then isn’t it better to lose the bitch while your net worth is zero. As opposed to catching her fing the doorman.
@70
If you are worried she is going to leave you because you no longer can ball then isn’t it better to lose the bitch while your net worth is zero. As opposed to catching her fing the doorman.
@ 72
In Battery Park City, three- or four-bedroom units can snag from $2.5 to $4 million.
YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL BAD IF THAT’S TRUE.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/inside-the-open-houses-of-battery-park-city
@ 72
In Battery Park City, three- or four-bedroom units can snag from $2.5 to $4 million.
YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL BAD IF THAT’S TRUE.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/inside-the-open-houses-of-battery-park-city
@ 72
In Battery Park City, three- or four-bedroom units can snag from $2.5 to $4 million.
YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL BAD IF THAT’S TRUE.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/inside-the-open-houses-of-battery-park-city
@ 72
In Battery Park City, three- or four-bedroom units can snag from $2.5 to $4 million.
YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL BAD IF THAT’S TRUE.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/inside-the-open-houses-of-battery-park-city
@ 72
In Battery Park City, three- or four-bedroom units can snag from $2.5 to $4 million.
YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL BAD IF THAT’S TRUE.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/inside-the-open-houses-of-battery-park-city
Yea but he just bought it so he’s probably underwater after closing costs.
@70: What kind of an idiot lives in Lower Manhattan and buys a car (let alone carS) anyway?
anyone know if there are more layoffs left for the remainder of the week?
I work at WFC, and the winters are fucking brutal. For rizzal, 10 degrees colder than midtown. The poor bastard probably has to drive to Gristedes (likely 2 blocks away) just to block the wind. My condolences, friend.
@90 – how else are you supposed to get to the hamptons? is owning a car the privilege of everyone but manhattanites? c’mon now. if you’re making low 7 figures a year, a $900 car payment is nothing…plus parking is cheaper on the west side highway.
sounds more like a first year analyst pretending.
damn it feels good to be a lawyer…
MER laid off some decent PNL contributors in some departments where big overlaps b/t BAC and MER.
@95 – I hope your a bk lawyer, because the lawyers I know have a lot free time these days.
@70 – shake it off man. spend some time with the kids then get back on the horse. you’ll wake up tomorrow and the sun will rise (promise). everyone is retrenching now, but people are selectively looking. hiring will not likely take place until the new year. no need to swim against the tide – but you need to stay in the flow…
@95,
Just wait until you’re passed for partner/special counsel, and released for “non-performance reasons.” Eat while the eating’s good, and focus on how to become a JRD coordinator. 160 is it, baby.
here are some things you can do:
pretzel man
ups christmas help
copy guy
sandwich board wearer in front of furniture store
discount brokerage broker
obama camoaign worker
here are some things you can do:
pretzel man
ups christmas help
copy guy
sandwich board wearer in front of furniture store
discount brokerage broker
obama campaign worker
@ 94 I agree. A person who buys a completely reasonable 3BR in a moderately priced area in NYC would have had plenty of safe haven (or “heaven” as he call it) money. Sounds like a joke.
Dick Fuld and Joe Gregory used to hold meetings at LEH during bonus time where they would tell people not to sell their shares and brag about how many shares they held.
Joe sold shares, once, during his divorce back around ’00 (the infamous “liquidity event” ). The firm culture was never, ever sell. LEH would arrange for your restricted stock to be used as evidence of ability to repay a mortgage, etc… Maybe MER was the same. The crash of MER, BSC, LEH, MS won’t be felt until Jan/Feb ’09. What you hear from #70 is the kind of thing you’re going to hear more and more.
102 is dead on. You should see the stuff that people were able to get with their stock as quasi-collateral.
New York is going to be fucking depressing this winter.
fixed income got destroyed today…
i was one of them – johnnys will never be the same again. stay strong!
Gosh. We havent heard anything big in asia so far.
Are you sure Derivatives and FI are also involved. Please come out clean
@103, not only was 102 dead on, but the rest of @70′s story runs true to the whole IB Manhattan game.
This place was utopia on heroin for the IB set from 2003-2007- it was wild, wild, wild stuff. I saw guys taking home $850k per year before tax who literally couldn’t hold down a shift at Denny’s. And the whole damn thing was in blast off, from the $1k bottle service joints (ahem PM, Pink Ele, etc.) to the ridiculous price for damn near any service, go ahead and hit up a decent personal trainer now and check that deflation peeps.
Well its over, we can look forward to the Fitzgerald of our era to give testimony to this guilded age just passed. So many “deluded” rich people got smoked in this orgy ala company stock, easy credit, and asset spec’ing via Murakami bs poser art to Hamptons summer houses for the ‘gee ain’t i rich’ crowd. Sad, sad, sad, the rest of America will look on at this behavior and laugh at the folly and hubris- you had a once in a lifetime opprotunity to save and cash out and instead you ramped your expenses just like you knew not to do, and now you, they a might collective we, are all FUCKED!
ahhh, so goes it, its ‘merica after all, there’s always Branson, MO.
izzo
@97, 98: There will a nice down-payment in the bank and an in-house job waiting if I get passed over for partner.
My firm is booming, my practice group continues to have record years.
I picked carefully in law school. I’ll pass on 72′s wife though.
@53/62/63/66/72 and others… Sorry to chime in late, but was away from the pc today.
Unfortunately, I have first hand experience on this unemployment gig … I repackaged myself from financial services to a law firm and ended up getting cut anyway and just marked my year anniversary. To say it is tough out there is an understatement.
First things first. Unemployment is a measly $405/week for 26 weeks and you only have to make about $50K to qualify for that max. (FYI, this amount has not been adjusted for CPI or anything else for at least the past 10 yrs if not more).
The extension you referenced is not automatic and was given to people that qualified when the govt passed the first stimulus package back in June. The additional 13 wks just ended (NY did not qualify for an addl 26 as some other states did, however, no decision has been made (yet) as to whether there will be a 2nd extension). So if you are first applying, assume 26 weeks for now. The previous extension will likely not apply.
As for what that $1620/month will buy, let’s just say I hope that you have been saving some of your money. I was making a modest income — low six figures and thankfully, I was saving towards an apartment so I had reserves … though I never expected to be living off of them for a year and cannot continue to do so indefinitely.
While I am fortunate to have a below market rental, $1620 does not cover the rent. Tack on your regular living expenses, COBRA payments,(and you will likely want/need a blackberry)and you will understand that life as you knew it is about to change in a MAJOR way.
Here’s the deal with the job market. There ARE jobs out there, however, there are so many people out of work the competition is insane. (I’ve heard a statistic that there are 3 extremely qualified applicants for every 1 job). And worse, you can have several intense interviews for a job only to have your hopes dashed in a hiring freeze. That is happening with greater frequency.
People will also encourage you to look outside the industry — which I would advise as well, though much easier said than done. I did (law) and ended up losing my job anyway. And when you are lucky to get your foot in the door of a company outside the industry, you will find yourself competing against people with years of experience in that industry. In this economy, people are looking to limit their risk … so not having 8-10 years in pharma, consumer goods, telecomm, etc. doesn’t exactly work in your favor. You may as well be an 08 grad.
Temping is a great option — if you can find an opportunity. Trouble is, many companies are shunning such expenses as well.
In short, it is pretty grim out there and I don’t wish this on anyone. It is an absolute living hell … and fortunately, I am not supporting a family and had the sense not to live beyond my means when I was working, so I have no debt. So in a lot of ways, I guess I’m lucky, but I cannot go on without an income indefinitely.
Do everything you can to hold onto your job even if you hate it and put away as much money as you possibly can. Start cutting your expenses now. If you do get axed, pressure your company for as many extended benefits as you can — I made mine pay my Cobra payments for a few months since they wouldn’t budge on severance. Be creative.
I hope this will help someone … I’m sorry I don’t have more uplifting news … but this crap is not new and there are a lot of us that have been suffering for quite some time before it became so mainstream.
#108. I’m sorry.
It seems to be a freak show out there. I’m located in Asia and live with someone in M&A in an IB. His firm is slashing people quarterly (not in his area but in IB generally). He says everyone at his firm is practically flipping out…so much uncertainty, so much politics and so many people trying to justify their existance….
Although it seems that US and Europe have been hit the most …
I’m at a commercial bank (which i guess is a joke to many of you !) but everyone is smuggly sitting pretty thinking life is sweet…clearly most of my colleagues are totally deluded and think they are immume to this crisis.
If I bankers have no chance on the street, what chance will the rest of the banking world have when they are inevitably cut too !!
there are so many excesses in all departments of an IB.
I am sure a 50% staff reduction can be managed without as much reduction in the revenues/profits.
Look at IT. People sit and await emails (Support staff) and have a good time. The Indian IT companies are earning a hell a lot of money out of these IBs
GS – Infy
MS,JPM,BoFA – TCS
ABN – TCS
RBS -Infy
there are so many excesses in all departments of an IB.
I am sure a 50% staff reduction can be managed without as much reduction in the revenues/profits.
Look at IT. People sit and await emails (Support staff) and have a good time. The Indian IT companies are earning a hell a lot of money out of these IBs
GS – Infy
MS,JPM,BoFA,ML – TCS
ABN – TCS
RBS -Infy
the western IT companies, gosh, they are toast big time.
Accenture has some insurance clients like UHS but others are generally gone.
Not even a single IT staff of TCS was fired from ML so far.
Trading desks are gone but the support staff just sit and read weird websites all day long.
Does ML have a contract or something that enables TCS to keep their employees until Dec 08 ?
@110
Ha! Bank teller! Go fuck yourself. You don’t belong here.
I was a very strong PNL contributor with clients who told me they would without a doubt do more business with me at BofA, than the person in the BofA seat right now! Overlap there but clients would have set it straight if given a chance. Now they are pissed and hopefully wont deal at either ML or BofA after I got sacked.
Meanwhile, HR refuses to divulge the sleazy vetting process. Deadbeat managing directors who contributed less than I, still sit there this morning after 16 years of non-productivity and are protected by the “MD Club” at Merrill.
Culture clash coming, and I expect these curmudgeons at the screens will finally be shot if not a bit too late! They should have gone in the first round, not a hard working employee consistently ranked outstanding producer!
come on charlie gaperino, please expose the crime just perpetrated on hard working revenue producing employees, who got it straight up the a#$. Expose Montag for the fraud he is. Head of trading? For $90mm what has he done in the last few months that was trading related?
are we expecting more cuts today? Or is it done after yesterday?
to the idiot who said lower manhattan is like a ghosttown, what lower manhattan are you in? I haven’t noticed a considerable amount of people not commuting here anymore. Not yet. Maybe because it’s cold you don’t see 32542325 douchebags standing outside smoking?
Long as MER’s paycheck puts fuel in the Bentley I don’t really give a shit what’s going on around here, because there’s nothing I can do about it anyways except continue coming to work. I saved plenty when times were good, and if the layoffs get to us, I’ll live in the G*ddamn thing. It’s roomier than my apt anyways.
Greg Fleming is THE MAN; not to be underestimated.
The guy is rare genius.
FI is getting destroyed. Another round to come just before x-mas
20% in Global Markets – S&T getting cut this week. This is across all groups within FICC and Equities – rates hit very hard, CDO & CMBS teams cleaned out, prime brokerage trimmed. Cuts are across board – analyst to MD level.
And this is just round one…
Banking and research to follow in coming weeks
american express layoffs to come next week.
Gas Bag reporting at least 5,000 jobs to be cut at Merrill to start this week.
@ 72
On the bright side, if your wife is buying “Channel” bags and not Chanel bags, you’re in the clear my friend- she’s buying them on Canal!
There truly is a silver lining to ever cloud.
Gas Bag? a link por favor …
Gas Bag? a link por favor …
Gas Bag? a link por favor …
@127
Gas Bag = Charlie Gasparino
(Wall Street’s very own Perez Hilton)
@121 how do you know this? and any idea what banking and research cuts will look like? Need facts, we already have PLENTY of rumors..
why does CNBC report yesterday’s 500 layoffs that everyone already knew about as “breaking news”?
Gas Bag? a link por favor …
@129
30% cut
Source?
@39/70/104/114 and anyone else who got let go from mer this round – what is the severance package? im still at mer and was wondering how much i would get if i get cut this round….
@39/70/104/114 and anyone else who got let go from mer this round – what is the severance package? im still at mer and was wondering how much i would get if i get cut this round….
@39/70/104/114 and anyone else who got let go from mer this round – what is the severance package? im still at mer and was wondering how much i would get if i get cut this round….
@136- read the post. avg. 12 weeks pay.
Bloomberg reports MER cut can be 10,000
Merrill May Cut 10,000 Jobs in Merger, Bove Says (Update4)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ao_JxlLDS_ds&refer=home
whole thing is sad…MER was great firm
@137 – i know the avg is 12 weeks. last round, they had 12 weeks plus 3 weeks for every year you worked at mer (for those who worked at mer longer than 5). i was wondering if they had anything like that in addition to the 12 weeks this round
My heartfelt sympathy to this flood of layoffs hitting now. I never thought I would see the day when so many people on this site would post en-masse about being laid off. I distinctly recall the day I got laid off, a few longtime DB commenters surely remember the day.
I made similar mistakes (i.e. not saving my bonuses in the heyday of fixed income) I thought that we would see a downturn, but I clearly underestimated the absolute depth of it.
I can tell you from personal experience that if the outlook for finding another job in NY is not working out for you after 1 month or so, it’s best to diversify your city options. As much as I miss NYC and wanted to stay, my past mistakes dictated that I would have to relocate where the jobs were. I am lucky that I was able to get something here in Chicago, but even now I am having doubts about my firm’s viability. With that in mind, I have cut almost 90% of my expenses that I absolutely do not need. (No more bottle service, fancy liste-rouge shirts)..
Hang in there folks, whatever you do, don’t do anything like this guy did:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=31449
Trader takes own life over large losses
By: Ann Saphir and Shia Kapos Oct. 17, 2008
(Crain’s) — An S&P 500 futures trader died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after losing several million dollars Wednesday, one of Wall Street’s most volatile days.
Joseph Anthony Luizzi, 44, of Oak Brook, died in west suburban Berwyn, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. He left a note.
“He explained to his wife that he had made a substantial loss and was despondent that he could never regain that loss,” said Berwyn Police Chief William Kushner.
A 20-year veteran of the trading floor, Mr. Luizzi was registered as a floor broker at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and cleared through DAW Trading, a division of futures brokerage Rosenthal Collins Group LLC.
-mrp
@142 (mrp/mrpink) — I’ve always enjoyed your postings here. Is there any way to get in touch with you? Thanks (from one of the people on the short end of that stick)
sucks…but it happens. live through it, it’ll get even worse.
http://www.weeklyta.blogspot.com
@121: sounds about right concerning CMBS and CDOs. BAC completely gutted the ABS CDO teams last year. All the assets went to one structured finance group and not a single person in the bank can trade a CDO anymore. It wouldn’t surprise me they do the same to MER.
@49/67 I heard about lay-offs at Deloitte yesterday through friends. This is just the start of one large ripple effect.
Tech and IT is the future! Changing the world everywhere. Look at the number of IT jobs available even on wall street inspitr of all this mess
I got out of IBD at a BB in August (industry group). I thought it was bad then, REALLY bad. People getting cut left right and center – not so much in industry groups but colleagues in M&A, equity, debt groups…
But it has gotten EVEN WORSE. Ripple effect everyone is referring to is truly happening.
I moved out to Silicon Valley, which up until TWO WEEKS AGO was UNSCATHED (outside of a small cut at Yahoo but primarily for internal problems).
Just two weeks ago all of the startups, pushed by their VC’s, started to cut 10-0% (40%!!!)
Also, Yahoo announced another 10% (1500 total), Ebay not too long ago announced a huge cut, wouldn’t be surprised if GOOG AAPL are next…
All of you stop the fucking wining and go work at McDonalds
All of you stop the fucking wining and go work at McDonalds
All of you stop the fucking wining and go work at McDonalds
All of you stop the fucking wining and go work at McDonalds
Any word on possible cuts to BofA’s investment bank?
Yea it’s crazy what is happening. Even the good IB guys at Merrill are getting cut while the bad ones remain. Healthcare IB head Jim Forbes is planning to can his top talent and keep the 9-5er girls he’s fucking. Even in bad times this happens!
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