American financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald has decided to trim employee headcount to save costs in the face of a downward trajectory in the economy caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
The downsizing will involve hundreds of job cuts across various units of the firm, reported Bloomberg.
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The firm has a staff strength of around 12,000 globally. The job cuts will reportedly constitute below 5% of its workforce.
The firm’s CEO Howard Lutnick anticipates a hit from an extended economic downturn.
“We have made prudent headcount and cost reductions to position the firm for the uncertain macroeconomic conditions expected for the remainder of the year,” the firm noted.
The firm’s capital markets and commercial real estate divisions have reportedly already implemented the culling.
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By GlobalDataLayoffs in other units are scheduled in the coming weeks.
According to the report, some of the employees who have been laid off earlier had already received their bonus checks.
The latest move by Cantor Fitzgerald is a departure from the recent trend by other financial services firms.
Previously, financial majors including Citigroup, HSBC and Morgan Stanley have vowed to refrain from making job cuts during the Covid-19 crisis this year.
Elaborating the reason to decide against layoffs in current times, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said: “Psychologically I think it would be a disaster. The worst possible thing.”
