Morgan Stanley is enacting a global staff reduction that will see approximately 3% of its employees let go, according to a person familiar with the matter. The cuts extend across every major business area of the firm.
Officials informed that the workforce reductions touch the investment banking and trading operations as well as the wealth management and asset management units. Both front-office staff who interact with clients and back-office personnel who support operations are included in the dismissals.
For the firm, which employs roughly 83,000 people worldwide, the 3% reduction equates to nearly 2,500 roles being eliminated. The source said the decisions are based on a combination of individual performance assessments and adjustments to business priorities and location strategies.
Executives are reportedly using a mix of performance review outcomes and structural realignment considerations to determine which positions to cut. The stated rationale includes a reassessment of where certain functions should sit geographically as well as which activities the firm intends to prioritize going forward.
The reductions affect multiple layers of the organization rather than being confined to a single unit, indicating a cross-divisional approach to trimming headcount. Front-line bankers and traders, who generate revenue directly, are among those impacted, alongside support staff in operations and technology roles.
Details on timing, severance arrangements, or the specific locations of the reductions were not provided by the source. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the personnel plan.
Context and scope
The firm-wide measure represents a modest proportion of the total workforce by percentage terms but a substantial number of individual employees given the scale of the organization. Management is reported to be aligning staffing levels with evolving business priorities and a changing view of optimal location footprints.
Additional specifics on how the reorganization will be phased, or which exact roles will be prioritized for retention or elimination, were not disclosed.