Layoffs are continuing in many large global companies. You might have surely heard of job cuts in several multinational companies. The latest company to announce job cuts is Morgan Stanley. The Wall Street bank has reportedly reduced about 3% of its global workforce, which is around 2,500 jobs.
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm’s clients include corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the layoffs affected employees in different departments of the bank and in several countries.
Many companies are currently trying to reduce costs and restructure their teams. Businesses are also adjusting their operations as artificial intelligence starts changing how companies work.
What makes this decision surprising is that the layoffs are happening even though the bank performed very well financially last year. This shows a growing gap between strong company profits and job security for employees. The layoffs at Morgan Stanley affected staff across its three main divisions:
- Investment banking and trading
- Wealth management
- Investment management
However, the report said that financial advisers were not included in the layoffs, which suggests that customer-facing roles remain important for the bank.
The report also said that the layoffs are linked to several factors. These include changes in business priorities, office location shifts, and employee performance reviews. The job cuts are not limited to the United States and have also affected workers in other countries.
In the wealth management division, the layoffs reportedly affected private bankers and support staff. Some employees who handled mortgage services for wealthy clients were also impacted. These changes reflect how the bank is reorganising its teams and services.
Employees started receiving notifications earlier this week, although the process reportedly began late last week. According to the report, employees were informed about their job status on Wednesday as the restructuring moved forward.
The layoffs are notable because the bank reported strong financial results in 2025. Morgan Stanley employs around 83,000 people worldwide and recorded its highest-ever annual revenue in both its investment banking and trading division and its wealth management business.
During the year, investment banking revenue increased by 47% as deal-making activity grew significantly. Fees from debt underwriting nearly doubled, showing strong performance in several business areas.
Despite these strong results, the company has still moved ahead with layoffs. Morgan Stanley has carried out several rounds of job cuts in recent years. This reflects a wider trend in the financial industry where companies continue to restructure even when profits are strong.
Looking ahead, company executives remain optimistic about 2026. Reports suggest there is a strong pipeline of mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs).
Trading activity has also remained strong because markets are volatile. Investors are reacting to concerns about artificial intelligence disrupting technology companies and to ongoing geopolitical tensions.
The job cuts at Morgan Stanley are part of a larger trend across the finance and technology sectors.
In recent months, several large companies have reduced their workforce while investing more in artificial intelligence tools. Many businesses believe automation and AI allow them to operate with smaller and more specialised teams.
Earlier this year alone, Amazon reduced about 16,000 corporate jobs. At the time, the company’s human resources chief Beth Galetti said the company did not plan to conduct large layoffs regularly every few months. However, she did not rule out the possibility of more job cuts in the future.
