Layoff Watch: Morgan Stanley, DLA Piper and more

Layoffs continue to add up as illustrated by the Labor Department's announcement that the initial jobless benefit claims are around 623,000 for the season, bringing the total number of unemployment recipients to 6.3 million. Contributing to those figures are layoffs both in finance and law. Here are the latest rumors and reports.

The layoffs at Morgan Stanley apparently began Tuesday in the equity derivatives department, according to Dealbreaker.

Rumors continue that Goldman, Sachs & Co. may lay off 10% of its global work force.

Putnam Investments laid off 260 people Thursday, according to The Boston Globe.

County Bank's 500 employees are in limbo. The bank was recently taken over by the FDIC and its assets acquired by Westamerica, which is making no job guarantees to employees.

Meanwhile, Thursday the legal world saw a massive bloodletting as eight major firms let go 800 staffers, according to the National Law Journal. Some of the notable firms include:

• Goodwin Procter LLP laid off 38 associates and 36 staff.
• DLA Piper cut 80 associates, primarily West Coast-based. The other 28 associates were based in New York and Chicago. DLA also let go of 100 staff members nationwide.
• Holland & Knight LLP cut 70 lawyers and 173 support staff.
• Dechert LLP laid off 19 attorneys.
• Cozen O'Connor laid off 61 support staff.
• Bryan Cave LLP cut 58 attorneys and 76 staff.

Another law firm not included in NLJ's list, but reducing staff, is Merchant & Gould PC, which is cutting 33 jobs.

It's a rough time, but there are jobs out there. Barclays plc is hiring in Asia. For the latest job postings, check out TheDeal.com's Career Center. For a roundup of all of the announced layoffs to date, check out The Deal's Pink slips on Wall Street Dealwatch. - Maria Woehr

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has been the premier investment bank in the world for decades. It has been the leader in underwriting fees, M&A, and proprietary trading profits for longer than many bankers can remember. It has also sent senior executive from the company to work in the highest level jobs in Washington.

But, the firm is not immune to the credit crisis. It earnings have been hurt, although less than those of most other financial firms. So, it comes as some surprise that it will cut 10% of its 32,000 person workforce.According to The Wall Street Journal. "The cuts, expected throughout the New York-based company, underscore how much even the mightiest securities firms have been shaken by the 16-month credit crisis."

The news may be bad for Goldman but it is awful for almost every one of the company's competitors, most of which are doing much worse than Goldman is. Some corporation in the industry have already lost people. especially Bear Stearns and Lehman. But, the cutting may have only just begun elsewhere. Several analysts recently put out reports saying Citigroup (NYSE:C) may not make money for over a year.

There had been some hope that the Paulson rescue would improve financials at big banks by enough so that they would not have to take drastic measures, but the capital may not be enough if mortgage markets get worse. If Goldman can cut over 3,000 people, its competitors are probably looking at much larger numbers. There are tens of thousand of Wall St. jobs at risk.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

Goldman Sachs (GS) to cut 10% of workforce, may be worse elsewhere

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has been the premier investment bank in the world for decades. It has been the leader in underwriting fees, M&A, and proprietary trading profits for longer than many bankers can remember. It has also sent senior executive from the company to work in the highest level jobs in Washington.

But, the firm is not immune to the credit crisis. It earnings have been hurt, although less than those of most other financial firms. So, it comes as some surprise that it will cut 10% of its 32,000 person workforce.According to The Wall Street Journal. "The cuts, expected throughout the New York-based company, underscore how much even the mightiest securities firms have been shaken by the 16-month credit crisis."

The news may be bad for Goldman but it is awful for almost every one of the company's competitors, most of which are doing much worse than Goldman is. Some corporation in the industry have already lost people. especially Bear Stearns and Lehman. But, the cutting may have only just begun elsewhere. Several analysts recently put out reports saying Citigroup (NYSE:C) may not make money for over a year.

There had been some hope that the Paulson rescue would improve financials at big banks by enough so that they would not have to take drastic measures, but the capital may not be enough if mortgage markets get worse. If Goldman can cut over 3,000 people, its competitors are probably looking at much larger numbers. There are tens of thousand of Wall St. jobs at risk.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

More Wall Street layoffs at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has started doling out the pink slips to investment bankers due to the crawling markets and merger slump, according to Reuters.

The report says hundreds of support staff and junior-level bankers were let go, and around 25% of employees at the vice president level. Wall Street has laid off more than 60,000 since the credit crunch began. Lehman Brothers Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. laid off a large number of employees due to the ailing markets -- and in Bear's case due to a merger with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

So far there have been 4,000 dismissals at Morgan Stanley, 5,000 at Merrill Lynch & Co., 7,000 at UBS and 16,000 at Citigroup Inc., according to New York Magazine. - Maria Woehr