Bear Stearns is only the latest Wall Street firm to cut jobs. In recent months, U.S. banks and financial service companies with banking operations having been slashing tens of thousands of positions.
Some have said they are reducing staffing to lower their costs. Others are doing so because interest rate changes have made it more difficult to profit from lending.
Still others are reacting to tightening credit conditions, especially for mortgage lending operations.
The following are some companies that have announced job cuts this year or are otherwise reducing staffing:
Bear Stearns
Bear Stearns said Wednesday it would cut 650 jobs -- 4 percent of its global workforce -- as the investment bank seeks to lower costs after losing bets on risky subprime mortgages. Since mid-August, Bear Stearns has announced the elimination of about 1,490 jobs.
Bank of America
Bank of America, the No. 2 U.S. bank, said on Oct. 24 that it was cutting 3,000 jobs, a majority of them in corporate and investment banking, and the rest elsewhere. The cuts amount to 1.5 percent of the bank's 198,000-person work force.
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse on Sept. 26 cut 150 jobs in its mortgage-backed securities business.
Capital One Financial
Capital One, an independent credit card issuer, said on Aug. 20 it will eliminate 1,900 jobs. In June, it announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs.
Citigroup
Citigroup said on April 11 that it would eliminate 17,000 jobs and move an additional 9,500 jobs to lower-cost locations. CNBC reported recently that there may be another big round of layoffs that could bring the total to 45,000.
Countrywide Financial
Countrywide, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, plans to cut 10,000 to 12,000 jobs, or up to 20 percent of its work force. It said on Oct. 16 that it expected a $125 million to $150 million pretax restructuring charge from the move. But on Nov. 27, it told investors its finances were sound.
HSBC Holdings
The bank's U.S. mortgage unit said on Sept. 5 it would cut about 600 jobs.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase, the No. 3 U.S. bank, is cutting 100 jobs across its global credit markets unit, or about 10 percent of that group's head count, people familiar with the situation told Reuters on Oct. 11.
Lehman Brothers Holdings
Lehman Brothers said Sept. 6 it will fire another 850 workers, or about 3 percent of its work force, as it scales back its mortgage operations. The cuts come after the investment bank said it was cutting 1,600 jobs.
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley said on Oct. 17 it was cutting about 300 jobs in its institutional securities division, mostly in mortgages. On Oct. 2, it said it would restructure its residential mortgage business and cut about 600 employees.
National City
National City, the ninth-largest U.S. bank, said on Oct. 24 it is eliminating 2,500 jobs, 1,200 more than it disclosed the month before, after it merged its home equity and mortgage lending units.
SunTrust Banks
SunTrust, the seventh-largest U.S. bank, said on Aug. 20 that it plans to eliminate about 2,400 jobs by the end of 2008.
Wachovia
Wachovia, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, said on Aug. 28 it plans to eliminate about 2,000 of 2,600 jobs at the Richmond, Virginia headquarters of its Wachovia Securities brokerage unit as part of the company's acquisition of A.G. Edwards.
Wachovia also said recently it plans to eliminate about 200 investment banking jobs, or roughly 5 percent of its 3,900-strong investment banking operations.
Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan, said Sept. 13 it would lay off 1,000 employees as it copes with slumping housing demand.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo, the fifth-largest U.S. bank, said on July 26 it would cut 170 jobs.
