(8 September 2010 – Australia) Macquarie Group is under mounting pressure to prune back its global work force, as profitability per employee continues to sit well below other investment banks.The Australian newspaper has reported that the investment bank has begun to lay off staff, with three sales traders from its Sydney office falling victim to the first round of culling.
The redundancies, which also follow a decision in the last fortnight to cut 20 client advisors, comes as the bank announced its third profit downgrade in just three months.
A spokesperson for the bank declined comment. Despite no bank-wide formal announcement, staff numbers will be drastically reduced.
The Australian reported that each of the major businesses at the investment bank will be responsible for managing headcount numbers, in an effort to restore profit growth.