City job losses could reach 10,000

by Gill Montia

Story link: City job losses could reach 10,000

Predictions for job cuts in the City are 54% higher than three months ago.

At the end of last year, the Centre for Economic Business Research (CEBR), the independent forecasting consultancy, predicted that the credit squeeze would result in around 6,500 job losses in the square mile.

It has now increased its forecast to between 8,000 and 10,000, while stressing that the figure is an estimate that could be revised again.

Major banks including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch have already cut thousands of jobs worldwide.

Meanwhile, Northern Rock could make up to 2,500 staff redundant, mainly across Tyneside, in its post nationalisation restructure.

In related news, a leading Wall Street analyst is predicting that financial stocks could lose up to half their value as a result of the Bear Stearns crisis.

Meredith Whitney, who works for investment firm Oppenheimer, expects Merrill Lynch, UBS and Citigroup to be the worst affected.