Coronavirus has Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank pausing layoffs
Initial jobless claims hit a record 3.28 million this week amid the coronavirus crisis
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A handful of Wall Street firms are doing their part to shield employees from economic hardship during the coronavirus crisis, at least temporarily.
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Citigroup agreed to pause layoffs that may have occurred if not for coronavirus, FOX Business has learned. Sources close to the firm said the move is aimed at supporting all colleagues during the pandemic.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | CITIGROUP INC. | 68.60 | -0.41 | -0.59% |
Deutsche Bank is also reportedly instituting the same pause on any workforce reductions, as reported by Bloomberg.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB | DEUTSCHE BANK AG | 16.80 | -0.29 | -1.73% |
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“To avoid additional emotional distress in the current environment, we will defer new communications of individual restructuring actions to potentially affected employees,” the bank said in a memo, according to the news organization.
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And Morgan Stanley's CEO, James Gorman, addressed employees in a memo, first reported by The Hill, which assured workers jobs are safe for the rest of the year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | MORGAN STANLEY | 132.21 | -1.80 | -1.34% |
“While long term we can’t be sure how this will play out, we want to commit to you that there will not be a reduction in force at Morgan Stanley in 2020,” Gorman said. “Aside from a performance issue or a breach of the Code of Conduct, your jobs are secure," said the memo published by The Hill.
The securities industry was responsible for more than 17 percent of all economic activity in the city, according to a 2018 report from the New York City Office of Management and Budget.
The developments from Wall Street come as industries including the airlines, hotels and restaurants have come to a virtual standstill forcing employers large and small to lay off workers.
Weekly jobless claims, reported Thursday, rose to 3.28 million reflecting the economic decimation caused by the pandemic. "This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 695,000 in October of 1982," said the U.S. Department of Labor in the weekly update.
New York City has been identified as one of the hardest-hit areas for coronavirus cases.
New York state, as of Wednesday, is dealing with 37,258 confirmed cases, as reported by Fox News.
Inquiries to the three firms by FOX Business were not immediately returned at the time of publication.