Morgan Stanley lays off 2,500 employees across divisions, source says

[NEW YORK] Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley has laid off about 3 per cent of its workforce, or roughly 2,500 employees, across all divisions, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday (Mar 4).

The job cuts were across the bank’s three major divisions, investment banking and trading, wealth management and investment management, but do not affect its financial advisers, the person said, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential information.

Morgan Stanley reported a banner year in 2025, with annual revenue hitting a record at the investment banking giant.

It also beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit in January, fuelled by a 47 per cent jump in investment banking revenue as dealmaking surged and debt underwriting fees nearly doubled.

Banking executives had struck an optimistic tone for 2026 on the back of healthy pipelines for mergers and acquisitions as well as initial public offerings.

Meanwhile, volatile markets amid worries of AI disruption to legacy technology businesses and geopolitical turmoil continue to boost trading desks as clients reposition portfolios to hedge against risks.

The cuts are based on strategy and individual performance, and the bank intends to add headcount in other areas, the person added.

The news of the job cuts at Morgan Stanley, which had a global workforce of 82,992 as at Dec 31, was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

There have been massive layoffs across US companies since the start of this year, as they streamline operations amid rising adoption of artificial intelligence tools.

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