Job Losses Hit 47,000 - No Let Up In Bloodletting

The number of job losses sustained by investment banks and brokers in the last 10 months has now hit 47,000. And the bloodletting is by no means over. Over 100,000 investment banking and broking staff lost their jobs in the last major downturn (2001 - 2003), and this latest banking crisis now looks like topping that figure.

Credit Suisse was the latest firm to come out this week and announce more lay-offs. The firm said in a statement that 'due to market conditions and projected staffing levels required to meet client needs, we are reducing headcount by approximately 500 across our Investment Banking and Shared Services Division'. 150 of the cuts are thought likely to come in London.

Merrill Lynch announced an additional 3,000 job losses last week (350 likely in London). And Reuters reports that the culling has begun, with 10 energy traders in London and New York already getting their cards. The news agency also quotes an unnamed London-based source 'familiar with the situation', who confirmed that 'some (other) employees have (also) been notified of the danger of redundancy, and the 90-day process has been started. As of now, they still work for the bank'. Up to 2,500 more are thought likely to go in the next round of job cuts at UBS Investment Bank (900 in London).

And the future of most Bear Stearns staff should be clearer in the next few days. Many are preparing for the worst, but the waiting is the killer. Some staff in Asia, however, have already been told their fate - employees in support functions like compliance and legal are already in transition and will leave in the next 6 weeks. Between 7,000 - 10,000 Bear staff are likely to ultimately lose their jobs once JPMorgan officially swallows up its smaller rival. In the meantime, The New York Post reports that JPMorgan bosses are putting pressure on key Bear staff who now need to decide whether they are in or out.

And here's a note of where most of the cuts have come / are coming from:

Citi - 7,900

Merrill Lynch - 5,600

Lehman Brothers - 4,990

Bank of America - 3,650

Morgan Stanley - 2,960

UBS - 2,000 (an additional 2,200 cuts are now thought likely)

Goldman Sachs - 2,000 (rumours abound that up to 15% of the firm's capital markets staff are now to be axed)

HSBC - 1,800

Bear Stearns - 1,550 (between 7,000 - 10,000 of the firm's staff are thought likely to go following the proposed merger with JPMorgan).

WestLB - 1,530

Credit Suisse - 1,350

Wachovia - 1,100

Deutsche Bank - 700

Royal Bank of Canada - 510

Royal Bank of Scotland - 500

Fortis - 490 ( most of these are in asset management and came as a result of the ABN AMRO deal)

Dresdner Kleinwort - 300 ( 150 more cuts are said to be on the way)

ABN AMRO - 200

Moody's Investor Services - 180

Fidelity International - 170

BNP Paribas - 150

Fitch Ratings - 130

JPMorgan - 120 (some additional job cuts are very likely due to the impending acquisition of Bear Stearns)

SG Corporate & Investment Banking - 110

Jefferies & Co - 100

Henderson Global Investors - 45

Sources include Bloomberg, The Financial Times and The New York Times