Morgan Stanley is reportedly set to lay off approximately 2,000 employees later this month as part of a restructuring initiative aimed at enhancing operational efficiency.
The job reductions, which account for 2% to 3% of the bank’s global workforce, will exclude financial advisers, reported Reuters, citing a source familiar with the decision.
As of the end of last year, Morgan Stanley employed over 80,000 people globally. The source emphasised that the layoffs are not linked to prevailing market conditions.
The decision comes as Wall Street institutions adjust their staffing levels amid economic uncertainty, according to the news agency. This follows newly imposed tariffs by US President Donald Trump.
Other major banks have undertaken similar measures. Goldman Sachs has advanced its annual performance review process and is preparing to reduce its workforce by 3% to 5%.
Meanwhile, Bank of America has cut 150 junior banker positions within its investment banking division.
Bloomberg News, which initially reported on Morgan Stanley’s job cuts, indicated that some redundancies are tied to employee performance, while others stem from shifts in the bank’s operational locations.
The financial sector had anticipated a resurgence in capital market activity following Trump’s re-election, but fluctuating trade policies have tempered that optimism. Uncertainty around tariffs has contributed to a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions as well as new equity offerings.
Speaking at a recent conference, Morgan Stanley co-president Daniel Simkowitz acknowledged that deal-making activity is “certainly a bit on pause, or the bar is high because of some of the policy uncertainties.”
In January, Morgan Stanley reported net revenues of $16.2bn in the fourth quarter of 2024 (Q4 2024), up from $12.9bn in the same period the previous year.
Net income for the quarter reached $3.7bn, or $2.22 per diluted share, compared to $1.5bn, or $0.85 per diluted share, a year earlier.
For the full year 2024, net revenues totalled $61.8bn, with net income of $13.4bn, or $7.95 per diluted share, surpassing the previous year’s $9.1bn, or $5.18 per diluted share.
