Wall Street Firms Cut 34,000 Jobs, Most Since 2001 Dot-Com Bust

[TomClash]

Source: Bloomberg

Wall Street banks hit by mortgage losses and writedowns have cut more than 34,000 jobs in the past nine months, the most since the dot-com boom fizzled in 2001.

Citigroup Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Morgan Stanley are among the firms that have disclosed headcount reductions so far. After the Internet bubble burst, 39,800 jobs were eliminated during the same period; the number climbed to 90,000 in the next two years, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The collapse of the subprime mortgage market last year and the ensuing credit contraction have saddled the world's largest financial institutions with at least $200 billion of writedowns and losses. Bear Stearns Cos., once the fifth-biggest U.S. securities firm, became the emblem of panic on Wall Street two weeks ago, when it was forced to submit to an emergency takeover backed by the Federal Reserve as clients and lenders deserted the company. More bank losses are likely, according to analysts.

``This crisis is much worse than 2001 and we don't know how long it's going to last,'' said Jo Bennett, a partner at executive search firm Battalia Winston International in New York. Job cuts ``could be more than 100,000 in a few years.''

Securities firms started eliminating positions in mortgage departments as early as last July, when rising delinquencies on home loans to borrowers with poor credit histories led to a decline in the prices of bonds tied to the loans. Between July and December, almost 17,000 jobs were lost, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Read more: http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTARUhP3w5xE&refer=home

[Mountainman]

1. Well, I feel for anyone who lost their job, but this problem was created

by financial institutions. The upper management will get rewarded and the cube dwellers are out looking for work. It was fun while it lasted I guess.

[TomClash]

3. Remeber that a lot of these people are working and middle class people

from the outer boroughs, like Brooklyn and Queens. Most are not exactly rich.

And a lot of their tax dollars go to support teachers and firefighters and nurses and cops.

This will spread to everyone.

[LiberalEsto]

4. And New Jersey

Once again, NJ's economy heads down the toilet.

[madrchsod]

2. i feel sorry for them

...they, like the rest of us had to do, have to find something else to do

[Javaman]

5. But but but...

the market is going up and the dollar "surged" by one cent!! all is well!!! all is well!!!

:banghead:

[TomClash]

6. Yes, very true.

[OhioChick]

7. More Jobs Down the Shitter...

:hurts: