London has seen its fair share of finance job cuts in recent months, but firms there aren't done trimming just yet. RBS announced today its plan to shed an additional 500 employees, in addition to the 3,500 job cuts it announced this summer. The fresh cuts account for about 3% of the RBS investment banking division, and come not long after the bank's decision to shut down 10 of its support centers.
Employees affected are mostly in London-based, back-office positions, though speculation points to more cuts in other areas of the bank should its business not improve in the coming months. While RBS has said that it hopes to redistribute the employees across the company, the positions being cut are notoriously expensive ones compared to those in the bank's other arms, making it all the more difficult to re-hire those being let go.
Despite earlier growth and expansion at many major firms, summer in the City brought nearly 1,000 job cuts between Barclays, Bank of America, and Credit Suisse. The cuts, combined with Morgan Stanley's recent decision to impose a hiring freeze in its i-banking division do not bode well for those hoping to see a sector-wide job market turnaround before the end of 2010. Experts say that trading slumps and heightened capital demands due to new legislation will likely force more firms to tighten their belts and shed staff, especially since the City's officials are unlikely to push for i-banking support for its continually struggling, bailed-out banks.