Morgan Stanley lays off 2,500 employees across divisions: Report

Morgan Stanley has reportedly laid off about 2,500 employees, nearly 3% of its global workforce, amid shifting business priorities and performance reviews. The cuts span multiple divisions despite record 2025 revenues, while other firms like Amazon and Oracle also trim jobs

New Delhi: US-based investment banker Morgan Stanley has reportedly laid off about 2,500 employees, or roughly 3 per cent of its global workforce, starting in early March, reports have said.

The job cuts are not linked to artificial intelligence-related reforms but stem from shifting business priorities, a revised global location strategy and performance reviews of employees, according to a Wall Street Journal report, citing sources.

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The reported layoffs span across the bank’s three major divisions such as institutional securities, wealth management and investment management affecting front‑office roles, revenue-generating roles and back‑office positions, though financial advisors are not impacted. Morgan Stanley was yet to comment on the report.

The move follows a similar round of job cuts last spring when the bank laid off 2,000 employees. The layoffs coincide with Morgan Stanley posting a record full‑year 2025 revenues of $70.6 billion, and a 47 per cent surge in revenues for the final quarter.

The bank employs 82,992 people across over 40 countries as of December 31, 2025. Morgan Stanley, in a recent report, had suggested that long-term impact of AI on jobs may be less severe than many expect. According to the report, while some roles will be automated, most workers are unlikely to be permanently left behind. Instead, many are expected to shift into new types of jobs, including roles that do not yet exist.

The bank said artificial intelligence will change the nature of work rather than eliminate it entirely.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey recently announced that Block, the payments company he founded, will cut its workforce by nearly half due to AI-led changes. The company will cut its workforce from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000.

Several tech industry leaders have said that most white‑collar roles that rely on computers could be automated within the next 12 to 18 months.

According to reports, Amazon has laid off staff across its robotics unit, with at least ​100 white-collar jobs affected. This comes after a January cut of about 16,000 jobs at the company. US tech giant Oracle plans to cut 20,000 to 30,000 jobs to expand its AI data‑centre capacity.