Financial giant BlackRock has announced plans to lay off about 3 per cent of its current workforce, citing a need to streamline operations and adapt to changing market conditions, as reported by Reuters.
Despite the layoffs, BlackRock remains optimistic about its future growth prospects. The company expects to have a larger workforce by the end of 2024, driven by hiring in key areas such as technology and alternative investments.
The workforce cut is expected to affect around 600 employees out of BlackRock’s 19,800 manpower as recorded till December 2022, according to a report by Reuters.
The layoffs are not focused on a specific team, but can affect anyone from different departments, reported Reuters.
The stocks of asset managers are up by 5 per cent in 12 months, which is very less when compared with 22 per cent gain in the benchmark S&P 500.
Chief Executive Larry Fink in October hinted that the company is mulling over acquisition targets in order to increase its growth trajectory. It ended the third quarter of 2023 with $9.1 trillion in assets under management, down from the second-quarter total of $9.4 trillion.
“For the first time in nearly two decades, clients are earning a real return in cash and can wait for more policy and market certainty before re-risking. This dynamic weighed on the industry and BlackRock’s third-quarter flows,” Fink said in a statement at the time,
BlackRock is expected to announce its fourth-quarter results on January 12. Shares of the company were down 0.5 per cent in afternoon trading on January 9.
