Layoffs Watch '12: Investment Bankers, Everywhere
Gird your loins, which have apparently gotten a free pass for too long.
Having already slashed bonuses, banks including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, are preparing to cut dozens of jobs, including some held by senior bankers, according to people familiar with the matter. As they pursue this targeted round of trims as soon as next month, they and rivals are also revisiting profit expectations for their advisory businesses, people familiar with the matter said. Until recently, Wall Street's ax had largely fallen on trading desks, which shed thousands of jobs as business dried up due to regulations and lackluster markets. But the cost-cutting focus is now expanding to deal makers and corporate advisers that have remained among Wall Street's most high-profile professionals even as their contributions to banks' bottom line has been dwarfed by traders. In addition to mergers-and-acquisitions advisory, investment banking includes raising capital through stock and debt.
Wall Street Gets Lean [WSJ]