Merrill Lynch is retreating from its ambitious global outreach of the 1990s with an invitation to tens of thousands of its employees, particularly those in foreign retail outlets, to take voluntary redundancy.
The world's biggest brokerage has decided to cut its 65,900 world-wide staff by 10,000 in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the US which accelerated a fall in profits in the securities industry. Before September 11th the firm hoped to limit job cuts to 2,500. It has already cut 6,800 employees from staff levels in the same quarter a year ago.
The falling stock market is the chief source of the company's woes but there are other factors.
"US-style investment banking didn't work as well overseas as expected," said a company analyst. This made it difficult to duplicate its US retail success, particularly in Japan.
The main cutbacks are expected to be in Japan, South Africa, Australia and Canada. The company employs about 180 staff in Dublin.
Merrill Lynch warned last week that it was about to embark on a restructuring process which could mean sweeping job losses. On Thursday it reported a 52 per cent fall in third-quarter earnings.
Chairman David Komansky said on Thursday that the investment bank was "sized inappropriately". President and chief operating officer Stanley O'Neal said, "We are in the process of taking a look at all aspects of our business." Staff numbers doubled in the company's costly worldwide retail brokerage business in the bull market of the 1990s.
