BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) is set to become the latest financial heavyweight to cut its workforce with 500 employees, around 3% of its payroll, to be laid off according to an internal email seen by Yahoo Finance.
"This week, after meaningful headcount growth in recent years, we are making some changes to the size and shape of our workforce," CEO Larry Fink and BlackRock president Rob Kapito said in a memo sent to staff on Wednesday.
"As a result of these steps, about 500 (or less than 3%) of our colleagues will be leaving BlackRock as we reallocate resources to our most critical growth opportunities."
READ: Goldman Sachs reportedly set to cut up to 3,200 jobs
It’s the first round of job cuts at New York-based BlackRock since 2019, and it will still leave headcount about 5% higher than it was a year ago.
The firm, which is set to report fourth-quarter results on Friday, had approximately 19,900 employees at the end of September.
Firms across Wall Street are holding back on hiring plans and cutting staff amid mounting economic uncertainty and the threat of a recession.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) was the latest high profile name to announce job cuts with plans to eliminate about 3,200 positions this week, including from its core trading and banking units.
BlackRock has roughly $8 trillion in assets under management, down from a peak of $10 trillion at the beginning of 2022.
"Both equity and fixed income markets are down significantly in 2022, and we and our clients are continuing to contend with market volatility and uncertainty," the email said.
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