As the agency notes, most banks increased their headcount during the pandemic-driven dealmaking boom but were then forced to cut staff amid the sharp slowdown that began in 2022.
The six largest US banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley—had a combined 1.09 million employees at the end of December. This is approximately 10,600 fewer than the year before and the lowest level since 2021, according to Bloomberg data. The last time Wall Street cut a comparable number of jobs was in 2016, when headcount fell by approximately 22,000 compared to the previous year.
As the agency notes, most banks increased their headcount during the pandemic-driven dealmaking boom but were then forced to cut staff amid the sharp slowdown that began in 2022. Now, banks are increasingly wondering what tasks can be outsourced to artificial intelligence. According to Bloomberg, Wells Fargo was the main driver of layoffs last year. Its headcount at year-end fell by more than 12,000 to 205,198 employees, the lowest level since the acquisition of Wachovia during the 2008 financial crisis.
Citigroup, also undergoing a transformation, ended the year with a headcount 3,000 fewer than its 2024 year-end target. Bloomberg previously reported that the bank would cut approximately 1,000 more jobs, and CEO Jane Frase made it clear to employees that further layoffs were possible.
At the same time, some banks actually increased their headcount last year. Goldman Sachs, for example, increased its headcount by 2% to 47,400 employees and cited rising compensation costs as the main reason for the 11% increase in total costs. Morgan Stanley also ended the year with approximately 2,500 more employees, despite cutting approximately 2,000 jobs in March. "There's a constant shift in the skill mix, so we're looking at what kind of people we need across different groups and functions," Morgan Stanley CFO Sharon Yeshaya told Bloomberg.