Morgan Stanley has reduced its global workforce by roughly three per cent, impacting around 2,500 employees across the organisation. The move comes even as the investment bank closed 2025 with its strongest annual revenue performance to date.
The job reductions span the firm’s major business segments, including investment banking and trading, wealth management, and investment management. Employees in multiple locations have been affected, covering both the US and several international offices. With a global headcount of nearly 83,000, the layoffs represent one of the larger workforce adjustments seen on Wall Street in recent months.
The cuts have been distributed across several roles and functions. However, financial advisers were largely unaffected, reflecting the bank’s continued emphasis on expanding its wealth advisory franchise. Within the wealth management arm, some of the reductions reportedly involved private banking teams and operational staff supporting services such as mortgage lending for high-net-worth clients.
The workforce changes are part of a broader recalibration within the bank. Internal restructuring, shifts in business priorities, and performance evaluations are believed to have influenced the decisions. Some roles have also been impacted by adjustments to office locations and operational structures.
The layoffs come during a year of strong financial momentum for the firm. Activity in global dealmaking rebounded significantly through 2025, boosting investment banking revenue and underwriting fees. Trading operations and the wealth management business also delivered record levels of income, contributing to stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.
For Morgan Stanley, the latest reductions signal an ongoing effort to reshape its workforce while positioning the business for future growth opportunities in global capital markets.
