So do we think layoffs are coming?
Title says it all. Wondering if sell-side and buy-side shops will start ‘rationalizing’ employees given the market volatility.
Anyone heard anything?
Tagging to IB for visibility.
Trending Content - Investment Banking Forum
| +134 | Do people still want to go PE? | 39 | 8h |
| +108 | UBS Tech layoff | 48 | 11h |
| +101 | UBS’s M&A BANKERS ARE DOING TERRIBLY. $200M EXTRA IS BEING CUT | 22 | 11h |
| +44 | How do YOU manage networking requests? | 9 | 12h |
| +37 | Lazard hirevue | 11 | 2d |
| +37 | What Differentiates the Best Analysts as AI Improves? | 9 | 2d |
| +35 | Are target prospects getting dumber? | 12 | 10h |
| +33 | MBB Pay Raises | 22 | 6h |
| +32 | Cornell Club T10 Rankings (UPDATED 10/2026) | 19 | 12h |
| +31 | Quitting After First 4 months | 11 | 7h |
Career Resources
An anecdote from 2008 -- layoffs didn't start until things got pretty bad and it was blatantly obvious that the work wasn't going to start picking up for awhile. There weren't really layoffs 'in anticipation' of things being bad.
Another thing is that Investment Banks in particular have been fighting like crazy to hire sufficient staff. They've been facing a shortfall in junior talent for more than a year now. They are going to want to be absolutely sure it is the right decision before they start terminating folks given the difficulty they've had staffing up over the last year.
Good call out. I also distinctly remember that time. And has the culture/environment ever changed since then.
Thanks, old timer! :D
Didn’t think I would be called an old-timer until I was in my 50s, but I suppose it is all relative! =P
The interest rate hikes killing the mood are in some part driven by a tight labor market. Fortunately for us, as long as the labor market is tight, banks will feel like they need to keep adequate staffing lest they be caught flat footed when things recover (like they were after covid and during the boom that followed).
Tech and ECM big time fucked
Well thank God I'm incoming at SVB Securities.
ECM is fucked. Tech is not. My MM Tech group and still getting crushed with work/mandates and we’re not even that short staffed
NOT IN APAC
Interesting. Can you give further explanation?
CUZ IM STILL WORKING 80 HOURS PER DAY AND LATERAL MARKET IS STILL STRONG
Natus libero voluptas voluptas autem. Doloribus maxime quo placeat dicta veniam. Id est nihil voluptates expedita accusamus sequi at. Deserunt quasi dolorum earum quod et.
Et non explicabo quas eos. In est id aliquid rerum. Voluptate similique modi sed necessitatibus qui.
Quod beatae delectus quis quo similique. Aut voluptatem aut nemo ratione sed. Deserunt dolorem consectetur quisquam delectus incidunt at. Ipsa reiciendis odio asperiores et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...