Morgan Chopping 100 Professional And Back-Office Jobs in London

J.P. Morgan & Co. will trim 100 professional and back-office jobs from its London operations as part of a move to cut worldwide operating expenses by an unspecified amount in 1995.

John Ford, a Morgan spokesman, confirmed a recent report in the Financial Times that the bank is planning to reduce its London staff of 2,200 during the next several months.

The cuts are part of a broader plan to slow the growth in operating costs and investments in the wake of a 29% drop in profits in 1994, to $1.2 billion, amid a worldwide downturn in securities markets.

An internal memo from Morgan chairman Douglas A. Warner, distributed to employees Jan. 24, warned that the company needs to reduce expenses and that job cuts would be part of the reductions.

Press reports since then have suggested that Morgan hopes to trim operating costs by up to 10% and would slash its worldwide staff of 17,055 by an equivalent ratio.

However, Mr. Ford denied that any specific target has been set for a reduction in either expenses or staff. "It's unfortunately been portrayed as a direct head-count hit," the spokesman said. "But it's cost we're targeting, not head count."

Morgan has so far declined to specify how much money the bank hopes to save through the cutbacks. It has also declined to go beyond saying that any reduction in either staff or operating costs and investments would be across the board and affect all areas of business.

Morgan added more than 4,000 people to its staff in the last three years as it expanded activities in trading, derivatives, and mergers and acquisitions.

Although the bank does not like to be perceived as an institution that arbitrarily hires and fires people, this is not the first time it has pushed through a significant employment reduction. From 1989 to 1991 Morgan cuts its staff, largely through attrition.

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