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Morgan Stanley is considering a 7% cut in its Asia-Pacific investment banking workforce, with China taking the biggest hit as deteriorating relations with the US and weaker economic growth curb dealmaking, people familiar with the matter said.
The bank is likely to start communicating with affected bankers as soon as this week, with more than 40 jobs at risk, including those with the capital markets unit. Other divisions may also be slightly affected, the people said, adding a final decision on the number of job cuts hasn’t been made.
The cuts are part of Morgan Stanley’s plan to reduce about 3,000 jobs globally by the end of this quarter, which Bloomberg reported earlier this month would amount to roughly 5% of staff excluding financial advisers and personnel supporting them within the wealth management division. Morgan Stanley has employed a bigger China team in Hong Kong than most of its rivals, making it vulnerable as deal activity slows.
The New York-based firm already axed about 50 investment-banking jobs in Asia by the end of 2022 after a plunge in deals, and a significant number of those were China-focused roles.