Bear Stearns Cos. announced Wednesday that it is reducing its staff by another 4% or 650 jobs from all departments due to its losses from this summer's mortgage meltdown. The layoff comes on top of the already 900 jobs the company reduced as of last month. On the whole, Bear has cut 10% of its work force.
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It's no surprise that Bear Stearns was hit so hard by the mortgage meltdown since it is the nation's biggest underwriter of mortgage bonds, which have found few buyers. The layoffs are part of a trend at investment banks and full-service banks to cut staff in response to losses from the mortgage debacle.
Overall, Wall Street firms have eliminated about 10,000 jobs this year,
mostly in units that make home loans and package them into
securities, according to Bloomberg. — Gerald Magpily
See Bloomberg article
See TheDeal.com: Buffett may take bite out of Bear
See TheDeal.com: Buying Bear Stearns
