Banks brace for firings

Banks are preparing to lay off tens of thousands of workers in an industrywide bloodbath that’s expected to become Wall Street’s largest since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a report.

The mass firings are looming after banks built up their workforces over the last two years as mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and SPACs flooded in.

At the same time, most banks had halted their annual culling of 1% to 5% during the pandemic. Now, some banks are facing investment-banking revenues that have been cut in half even as payrolls have ballooned.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Bank of New York Mellon have already slashed more than 15,000 jobs combined over the past few months, the Financial Times reported. Those cuts could be just the beginning, according to some industry insiders.

“Banks hired in a crazy fashion over the last few years,” John Breault, CEO of recruiting firm Breault & Smith, told The Post. “So far these layoffs have been normal retrenchment but things could get worse.”