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Bloomberg
Berenberg has laid off about 10 employees in New York, cutting the German investment bank’s headcount in the country by half over the past 12 months in a dramatic reversal of its previous growth plans.
The staff worked for Berenberg’s US unit and they left in recent days, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Most of them worked in support functions, said the spokesperson, who declined to comment further.
The number of US-based employees is now down to about 75 from 156 at the end of last year, marking a change of fortunes for the more than 430-year-old firm, which reported its best-ever profit in 2021.
The firm had started the year with plans to expand its record headcount with some of the new hires based in New York and had also doubled its US office space on a 15-year lease last year.
Instead, the firm cut 50 jobs in the US in the summer and then eliminated a further 30 investment banking roles in London, or roughly 5% of its total staff in the British capital.
Staff have also been told that bonuses will be limited and targeted this year because of the much weaker activity in the IPO market, Bloomberg reported last month.