Investment
bank Merrill Lynch has sent e-mails to all of its 65,000 employees asking them to consider taking voluntary
redundancy.
The
investment bank, which has
staff across 44 countries, has asked all employees from secretaries to analysts
and brokers to consider the offer.
The
US company is offering between 12 and 54 weeks’ salary, depending on length of
service, and staff have
been given a few weeks to decide.
Merrill
Lynch’s third quarter results revealed that its year-to-date operating earnings were $1.9bn, 35 per cent lower than the first nine
months of 2000.
The
investment bank employs around 8,000 staff in the UK and the City of London is
its regional headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
A
spokesman for the company said, "It is a response following the
announcement of our third quarter results.
We are reviewing all areas of business to ensure they are sized properly
for the market opportunity at the moment. The market condition is a major
factor of that."
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The company would not comment on how many positions it is
hoping to lose.
