Morgan Stanley to Cut 580 Jobs Across New York Offices

Morgan Stanley will cut 580 jobs at four Manhattan offices, the company said in a filing with New York State's Department of Labor on Tuesday.

The filing, known as a "WARN" notice, is required under the state's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Morgan Stanley filed the notice after announcing plans in mid-December to cut 1,600 jobs across all geographic locations and seniority levels.

The cuts in New York will come from the investment bank's offices at 1221 Avenue of Americas, 1 New York Plaza, 1585 Broadway and 750 Seventh Avenue, according to the notice.

Morgan Stanley cited economic reasons for the job cuts, which come amid a sharp decline in investment banking and trading revenue across Wall Street.

Analysts expect Morgan Stanley to report a loss for the fourth quarter, due to a $1.8 billion charge related to a settlement with bond insurer MBIA Inc. They expect the bank to report revenue of $6.48 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, which would represent a decline of 25 percent from the year-ago period.

Citigroup Said to Cut 95 London Jobs in Markets Business

Citigroup Inc. (C), the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, is cutting about 95 jobs in its markets business in London to reduce costs, two people with knowledge of the plan said.

The cutbacks, part of the 4,500 reductions announced this week, are taking place today in fixed income, currencies, rates and commodities, as well as equities, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. Citigroup officials in London declined to comment.

Financial firms globally have announced more than 200,000 job losses this year, up from about 58,000 last year and 174,000 in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit is cutting staff as banks prepare for regulations on minimum capital levels and the European sovereign-debt crisis persists, threatening revenue from trading and investment banking.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) CEO Brian T. Moynihan said in September that the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender plans to cut 30,000 jobs in the next few years.

Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) said last month it would eliminate 1,500 jobs after its investment bank posted its first quarterly loss since 2008 in the third quarter. BNP Paribas (BNP) SA, France’s biggest bank, said in the same month that it will trim about 1,400 jobs at its securities unit, with most coming from the lender’s capital markets and structured-finance teams.

Citigroup to eliminate 4,500 jobs, says CEO Pandit

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Citigroup will lay off roughly 4,500 employees over the next few months, CEO Vikram Pandit said Tuesday, as Wall Street continues to bleed jobs amid tough economic times.


Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference in New York on Tuesday afternoon, Pandit said the cuts would come over the next few quarters.

Citi (C) will book a charge of approximately $400 million in the fourth quarter of this year due to severance payments and other expenses associated with the layoffs.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to control expenses, we are making targeted headcount reductions in certain businesses and functions across Citi," said Jon Diat, spokesman for Citi, in an email.
Citi employed 267,000 employees worldwide as of September. The company said in November that it was planning layoffs, which a source said at the time were expected to top out around 3,000.
Wall Street's shrinking job pool

The financial services industry has lost more than 200,000 jobs globally this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bank of America (BAC) alone has announced plans to cut 30,000 employees over the next several years.

Year-end bonuses, meanwhile, will decline between 20% and 30% on Wall Street this year, according to compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates. Overall compensation for finance professionals in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa will drop 27% this year, the lowest levels since 2008, according to the Options Group consulting firm

Man Group Doubles Job Cuts

As part of a cost-cutting initiative, Europe's largest hedge fund manager, London-based Man Group, has doubled the number of job cuts.

The firm told investors it has trimmed staff by approximately 20%, which translates into about 400 jobs, or one in five employees. It had initially planned to cut 10% of staff after acquiring hedge fund GLG Partners in October 2010.

A spokesperson told Dow Jones the firm doesn't plan additional job cuts. Man Group has had a tough time of it lately. Investors requested the return of $7.1 billion in capital between late June and late September.
The job cuts will bring the group's headcount to the level it was before it bought GLG. Most of firm's employees are based in London, with the back office and support functions especially feeling the brunt of layoffs. A source familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that traders aren't likely to be laid off.

Capital One hiring 500 in Delaware, getting millions in incentives

Capital One Financial Corp. has committed to expanding its Delaware work force by 500 jobs, state officials said Monday morning.

In June, Capital One announced its plans to acquire Delaware-based ING Direct USA for $9 billion. In August, it said it would acquire HSBC’s domestic credit-card business for $2.6 billion. HSBC’s domestic card business also employs Delawareans.

The 500 jobs announced Monday would be in addition to all of the ING and HSBC employees that would become Capital One employees after the acquisitions.

As part of the expansion agreement, Capital One will receive a Delaware Strategic Fund Job Creation Incentive of $5.6 million and a Capital Improvements and Equipment Cash Incentive equal to 3 percent of the total capital expenditures the bank makes for its new Wilmington facility, up to a maximum rebate of $1.5 million. The funding is contingent on approval by the Delaware Council on Development Finance. Under the agreement, the 500 new jobs must be in place by December 2013.

A Capital One spokesman said the jobs will entail a wide variety of functions including retail banking, information technology, human resources and risk management. Two separate sources familiar with the situation said the jobs will pay an average of at least $135,000.

McLean, Va.-based Capital One (NYSE:COF) is parent to Capital One NA and Capital One Bank (USA) NA. It had $126.1 billion in deposits and $199.8 billion in total assets as of June 30. Capital One NA has about 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

HSBC plans to cut 30,000 jobs

HSBC will shed 30,000 jobs as it retreats from countries where it is struggling to compete, Europe's biggest bank said on Monday after it reported a surprise rise in first-half profit.


HSBC will axe 30,000 jobs as it slashes costs and retreats from countries such as Russia, Poland and the U.S., where it is struggling to compete, Europe's biggest bank said after reporting a surprise rise in first-half profit.

HSBC's shares rose as much as 5 percent as first-half pretax profits of $11.5 billion were up 3 percent on a year ago, beating the $10.9 billion average in a Reuters poll.

The London-based bank said it had cut 5,000 jobs after restructuring operations in Latin America, the United States, Britain, France and the Middle East and that it would cut another 25,000 between now and the end of 2013.

That equates to 10 percent of HSBC's 296,000 workforce. The bank's 110,000 staff in Europe and North America will bear the brunt of the job cuts.

Boston: State Street Plans to Lay Off Hundreds in IT

State Street Cuts 850 Tech Jobs

State Street announced plans to cut 558 technology jobs in Massachusetts.

The Boston-based financial services firm said it will eliminate 530 of the positions over the next 18 to 20 months, while another 320 employees will be transferred to IBM or Wipro.

State Street calls the job cuts part of an “IT transformation.” Late last year, the company unveiled a massive cost-cutting plan that envisioned eliminating 1,400 positions, including 400 in Massachusetts. The company’s Bay State head count is about 12,600. Worldwide, the company employs 29,450 people.

Halliburton Will Expand Its Workforce by 15,000 in 2011

Hiring at Halliburton Co. is in full swing. The Houston-based energy equipment and services company expects to add 15,000 employees by the end of the year, a jump of about 25% from its current staff, the company said.

In fact, the entire oil and gas industry is booming, and the hiring will include people with careers in technology, marketing and sales.

"2011 seems to be a return to the glory days with regards to oil and gas hiring," said Mark Guest, president of global job board OilCareers.com, in an email. "There is demand for increased technology, and in turn, sales and marketing."

Halliburton, which has a staff of more than 60,000 globally, has already hired about 5,000 people this year in a wide range of jobs, including manufacturing and engineering positions. The company anticipates hiring another 10,000 employees before the year is out, said company spokesperson Tara Mulee Agard. She didn't specify the exact nature of the positions.

Revenue is surging. Halliburton reached a record of $5.3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2011, chief executive officer Dave Lesar said in a company statement regarding the company's earning release in April. Increased demand in the United States accounted for the more than 40% increase from a year ago.

Uncertainty over the economic recovery is driving up the price of crude oil and boosting needs for equipment and services, Guest said. More than half of the number of open job postings for the top oilfield service providers are located in the U.S.

Job hunters should focus on key companies if they are looking to get in on the expansion, according to data from OilCareers.com. Halliburton, Schlumberger Ltd., Baker Hughes Inc. and Weatherford International Ltd. are the driving forces behind the hiring.

Halliburton careers website:

Chicago : United Airlines boosting workforce by 1,300

(Crain's) — Chicago is beginning to reap the rewards of the merger of United Airlines and Continental Airlines.  United said Friday it is adding another 1,300 jobs in Chicago, which is headquarters to the newly combined airline. The announcement brings downtown workers from elsewhere in the two carriers' operations.

It also adds to the number of those making the move from operations in Elk Grove Village, as the carrier has begun moving into Willis Tower. The downtown move was under way when United announced last year it planned to merge with Houston-based Continental Airlines.

The jobs are in a variety of roles, including operations, technology and human resources. The moves are expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Originally, United said it would bring 2,500 jobs downtown from Elk Grove Village.

Last fall, parent United Continental Holdings Inc. decided to increase its space at Willis to 12 floors from nine. United already is beginning to move workers into the building, which ultimately will house the airline's operations center.

The carrier is working toward federal approval to operate as a single airline, expected later this year.

“As Chicago’s hometown airline, United is pleased to announce that we are bringing an additional 1,300 jobs downtown from locations throughout our system by the end of 2012,” United Continental Holdings CEO Jeff Smisek said. “Mayor (Rahm) Emanuel recognizes the importance of keeping Chicago competitive with other cities and expanding job growth here, and we look forward to working together with him and his team.”

Said Mr. Emanuel: “I promised to foster a business climate that attracts and retains the greatest companies in the nation. I am happy to announce that United has substantially increased their commitment to the city of Chicago, by bringing these jobs to the hardest-working people in America.”

Skype and Amazon are hiring in Silicon Valley

Microsoft’s latest acquisition, Skype, is going to stick to its plans to hire hundreds of people in Palo Alto. The company’s going to maintain its own offices rather than move into Microsoft’s campus in Mountain View. Also, Skype says it will continue to invest in Silicon Valley.

 Amazon’s also looks to be hiring in California. Lab126, the subsidiary that works on Kindle and other tablets, is supposedly renting “lots” more office space in Cupertino. The company’s reportedly working on a full-blown tablet and maybe a smartphone.

A new kind of brute-force recruiting is emerging. Engineering talent is so in demand that large companies are acquiring small companies not for their products or ideas but for the warm bodies they employ. The buzzword is acqhiring. So says The New York Times. Big companies and small ones just keep saying they can’t find enough good tech people. So, they’ll give them everything from free iPads to entrepreneurship lessons to attract them. Start-ups in particular are looking for people. Total job openings at venture-backed startups in Silicon Valley have risen to 3,609 from 1,739 in April 2008. Elsewhere in the U.S., they rose 69 percent in the same period.

McDonald's aims to hire 50,000 people

(Crain’s) — Big Mac wants you. 
Hyping what it calls National Hiring Day on April 19, McDonald’s Corp. launches an ambitious campaign Monday to recruit a whopping 50,000 people to its already massive workforce of 60,000.

The push aims to recast McJob — a derogatory slang for a low-paying, dead-end job — into a desirable employment opportunity.

“McJob is going to enter the conversation,” said Rick Wion, social media director at McDonald’s USA. “Rather than avoid the term, let’s embrace it and turn it on its ear.”

The company said it is looking for all types of employees, from crew members to managers to corporate employees, in anticipation of the busier summer months. Prospective employees can apply in person at any of the company’s 14,000 U.S. locations or through the McDonald’s website.

The campaign will appear in print magazines such as People, Us Weekly, Ebony, various ethnic publications, on the chain's social-media and digital channels such as Twitter, on local radio spots, as well as point-of-purchase, in-store marketing and on packaging on certain items.

And although the campaign is in conjunction with McDonald’s National Hiring Day, much of the advertising push -- especially in print -- is dedicated to highlighting McDonald’s restaurant employees in various ranks in an effort to improve the image of working at McDonald’s.

“The creative part is really highlighting the people at McDonald’s and dispelling the myths that there isn’t opportunity working here,” said Marlena Peleo-Lazar, global creative officer at McDonald’s USA. “We really wanted to highlight our crew.”

The McDonald’s effort was created by Citizen2, a consultancy and advocacy organization in Chicago and the Washington, D.C., area. The social-media effort is handled in-house, alongside the company's public-relations agency, Interpublic Group of Cos.’ GolinHarris.

One medium this campaign is not using is TV. “We found that print was the best medium to communicate the story about the brand and the opportunity people have here,” said Tania Haigh, marketing manager at McDonald’s USA. Video will be relegated to social media, which will include short videos of employees discussing why they love their McJobs.

While the campaign’s primary goal is to change the perception of working at McDonald’s and recruit prospective employees, it comes at a time when more marketers, including the likes of Pizza Hut, Overstock.com and Southwest Airlines, have put forth their own workforce as the stars of their advertising.

Oak Brook-based McDonald’s last week launched an internal campaign in which it asked employees to create their own video testimonials on why they love their McJobs, for possible future use in the campaign's social media effort.

While this is the first time the chain has done a hiring day on a national level, the company’s western division held a hiring event last spring, and in the process employed about 13,000 people.

McDonald’s is competing in an improving labor market where existing and potential McDonald’s employees have opportunities to pursue jobs at other companies with higher pay. The U.S. economy has added jobs for 13 consecutive months; the unemployment rate (8.8%) is at a two-year low, according to an Ad Age DataCenter analysis of data from Bureau of Labor Statistics.

McDonald’s campaign could give the company an advantage over competitors by making a potential pool of candidates think of McDonald’s first. It could also generate goodwill among customers who like the idea of seeing a company bring jobs into a community.

According to the fast-feeder, more than 50% of McDonald’s franchisees and 75% of restaurant managers started as restaurant-crew employees. Among long-term McDonald’s employees is McDonald’s USA President Jan Fields, who started by making fries at a restaurant.

For the national hiring event, McDonald’s drew on research extrapolated from company-owned restaurants and compiled by Dennis Tootelian, who studies business trends and policy at the Center for Small Business at California State University, Sacramento. Mr. Tootelian estimates that McDonald’s and its franchisees will lay out at least $518 million more in wages and salaries during 2011 than the prior year — an average of more than $1.4 million every day.

AOL to Cut Up to 900 Jobs as It Integrates Huffington Post

(Bloomberg) -- AOL Inc., the Internet company that agreed to buy the Huffington Post last month, said it will eliminate as many as 900 jobs as the company integrates the news website and restructures to try to return to revenue growth.

The company will cut as many as 700 jobs in India and 200 in the U.S., Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong wrote in a memo to employees today. In India, 300 of the affected employees will move to outsourcing partners and continue to do work for AOL, he said.

“The changes for me today are very personal,” said Armstrong at the Bloomberg Media Summit in New York. “AOL employees deserve a tremendous amount of credit because I don’t think it’s easy to go from managing decline to managing growth.”

Armstrong said he would discuss the job cuts with employees later today.

“Our strategy remains clear: create high quality content experiences for consumers, at scale,” Armstrong wrote in the memo. “Today, we are announcing an organizational structure that will significantly improve AOL’s ability to focus on growth.”

The company had 5,860 employees at the end of last year, according to regulatory filings. If the company sheds 900 jobs, that would be 15 percent of the total.

Declining Revenue

AOL, whose sales have declined for four straight quarters, agreed to buy the Huffington Post for $315 million, aiming to increase online content to help boost advertising revenue. In India, the company is outsourcing back-office work to cut costs and focus on increasing consumer product sales.

Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post, joined AOL as president and editor-in-chief of a newly formed media group, which includes other AOL content. Her website will serve as the model for other journalism efforts, Armstrong said in the memo.

“AOL will invest more heavily in our in-house editorial team and transition away from a reliance on freelance journalists,” he said. “Journalists are the heart and soul of a media company.”

Armstrong said he recently made a personal purchase of $10 million in AOL stock. In May, the former Google executive, who became AOL’s CEO in 2009, bought $11.1 million worth of stock.

Barclays to Cut 1,000 Employees

Barclays will lay off 1,000 employees as it withdraws from its financial planning advice business for U.K. retail banking customers. The firm announced yesterday that it will move the investment services online as "it is unlikely that this business would be able to deliver a return that would justify the investment required."

Georgie Carter, a Barclays spokesperson, said that the decision was based "on us seeing a decline in the commercial viability of the business." The 1,000 employees affected will be placed into a redeployment program that will span six months, she said. Employees will be able to apply for internal positions and also receive support to apply for external roles.

The cuts will take place across the country and begin on February 18.