Morgan Stanley May Lay Off Additional Employees As Dealmaking Business Slows

Morgan Stanley MS is reportedly looking at fresh rounds of layoffs amid lower dealmaking business due to inflation and an economic downturn.
Morgan Stanley has 81,567 employees globally at the end of the third quarter.
The Wall Street bank has drafted a list of redundant staff members in the Asia Pacific, the New York Post reported, primarily from teams focusing on China-related business.
Some layoffs might happen in capital markets teams in Hong Kong and mainland China, and most of the remaining may be from other teams focusing on China business, both onshore and offshore.
According to one of the sources, Morgan Stanley's 30-plus technology investment banking team in the Asia Pacific will also witness the impact of workforce cuts.
Morgan Stanley last month reported a 30% slump in third-quarter profit, missing analysts' estimate. It hinted that some cost-cutting actions were on the radar.
"We're looking at headcount," Chairman and Chief Executive James Gorman said in a conference call last month without providing details.
"You've got to take into account the rate of growth we've had in the last few years, and we've learned some things through COVID about how we can operate more efficiently."
Price Action: MS shares are down 0.73% at $83.75 premarket on the last check Thursday.