US investment bank Morgan Stanley is considering laying off as many as 1,000 brokers, or seven per cent of its brokerage force, as part of a plan to cut nearly $1 billion in costs, the Wall Street Journalreported.
Citing a person familiar with the matter, the newspaper reported in its online edition today that the total job cuts at the firm could reach 1,500, with the remainder coming from support staff, investment banking, trading and research.
The layoffs would echo recent cost-cutting measures at other big Wall Street firms, as they grapple with the effects of a falling stock market and a slowing US economy.
Morgan Stanley is the third-largest securities firm in the US, with 14,000 brokers, the paper said.
The total cuts would represent 2.5 per cent of Morgan's full workforce, it added. A Morgan Stanley spokesman declined to comment, the paper said.
Merrill Lynch, the largest securities firm, is considering laying off about six per cent of its investment-banking department, or 150 employees, the paper reported.