Bank of New York Mellon Corp to slash 1,800 jobs worldwide news
21 November 2008

Two days after Citigroup announced the biggest workforce reduction of its kind by slashing 50,000-plus jobs from its payroll, its smaller counterpart Bank of New York Mellon Corp said today that it would reduce its worldwide workforce of 43,000 by approximately 4 per cent, or 1,800 positions. (See: Citigroup to slash 50,000 jobs worldwide)

"It has become clear that we need to take additional steps beyond our merger synergies to reduce expenses, given the current weakness in the global economy. We will take advantage of natural turnover to lessen the impact on existing staff," said Robert P Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer.

The cuts announced on Thursday are not related to Bank of New York Co's $18.3 billion purchase in July 2007 of Pittsburgh-based Mellon Financial Corp, which created Bank of New York Mellon. The merger was expected to result in 3,900 job reductions. (See: Bank of New York and Mellon Financial merge to form a giant)

Bank of New York Mellon is the world's largest custodian of assets for institutional investors and one of its biggest asset managers and even before this quarter's stock market sell-offs had seen assets decline. Assets under custody fell to $22.4 trillion as of 30 September from $23 trillion three months earlier, while assets under management fell to $1.07 trillion from $1.11 trillion. Third-quarter profit fell 53 per cent from a year earlier, largely because of a charge to bail out money market funds.

The last few months have been especially hard for bank employees, many of whom have seen themselves being made redundant by their employers in an effort to prune costs and stave off total collapse.

Several banks have announced huge layoffs, including Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which is cutting 10 per cent of its 32,500 global work force, and Deutsche Bank AG, which plans to cut 900 jobs. Bank of New York Mellon is among nine banks receiving federal funds as part of the government's financial rescue plan. (See: Goldman Sachs to slash 10 per cent jobs, 3200 employees at risk)

Shares of Bank of New York Mellon closed yesterday down $1.03 at $24.36 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have fallen 50 per cent this year.


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Bank of New York Mellon Corp to slash 1,800 jobs worldwide