US-based Fidelity Investments to lay off workers

In a sign of the times, Boston-based Fidelity Investments has announced it will be laying off 1,290 employees across its US operations this month, with further redundancies to be made in the first quarter of next year.

In a statement released yesterday, the company said the cuts to its US workforce were in response to declining markets, which have eroded funds under management and reduced profit.

The initial layoffs equate to 2.9 per cent of Fidelity’s overall workforce of 44,400. The company would not comment on how many employees would be laid off next year, but a spokesperson said the combined round of job cuts would affect fewer than 4,000 people — a figure that had been touted in the US media.

The company did not say whether the second round of job cuts included Fidelity International — the company’s non-US business — which accounts for about 4,000 employees worldwide. Fidelity Australia is part of Fidelity International.

Fidelity International has already confirmed it started reducing staff numbers in the UK last month by as many as 200.

In a guarded response, a spokesperson from Fidelity Australia would not confirm or deny any staff reductions locally.

“We will continue to have a growing presence in Australia, and plan to further expand our operations and products on offer once the market returns to normal,” the spokesperson said.

“Like many organisations in our industry, we constantly review our cost structure to best manage our overall costs and this is an ongoing and normal part of managing our business.

“Given market events more recently, this has unfortunately involved some headcount reductions in the US and the UK. We are simply realigning our internal cost structure to match the current market conditions, which will allow us to continue current standards of service.”