Bank / Credit Union

Banks saw nearly 62K job cuts in 2023

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January 3, 2024

Big banks cut 61,905 jobs in 2023, the biggest amount since the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2008 which saw more than 140,000 jobs lost. Many banks cut jobs due to reduced fees, which led to banks protecting profits by reducing the number of employees, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Another reason for this decrease is that banks are getting rid of hires they made following the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was a major demand for banking roles.

One bank, Credit Suisse, saw at least 13,000 jobs cut when it was acquired by UBS to avoid a collapse. Wells Fargo was the second biggest, as it reduced its employee count by 12,000.

Other bank cuts include:

• Citigroup by 5,000.
• 4,800 at Morgan Stanley.
• 4,000 at Bank of America.
• 3,200 at Goldman Sachs.
• 1,000 at JPMorgan Chase.

"There is no stability, no investment, no growth in most banks — and there are likely to be more job cuts," Lee Thacker, owner of financial services headhunting firm Silvermine Partners, said in the report. "There are some very nice gifts being sent to bosses at the moment."