Another 15,000 jobs are expected to be shed from financial services companies in the next three months, on top of 15,000 already axed in the first quarter of 2009, a survey has revealed.
The CBI/PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Financial Services Survey, out today, has shown that the financial services sector has been hit by record drops in income levels, while business volumes have continued to fall sharply. The industry has cut jobs at the fastest rate since 1993 to try and trim costs and alleviate steep falls in profitability. Investment plans have also been heavily scaled back.
Asked how their business volumes fared in the three months to early March, 9% of firms said that volumes rose, while 56% said they fell.
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Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic adviser, said: “Conditions remain exceptionally tough in the financial services sector, and have not been helped by equity markets having fallen further since our last survey in December.
“Sharp drops in revenues and profitability are causing continued suffering, while business volumes remain very weak. Firms are making heavy cuts to staff numbers and investment plans to make savings and reflect weak demand.”
