The cuts reflect a broader pullback from aggressive pandemic-era hiring that swelled Wall Street payrolls, and arrive as tens of thousands of white-collar workers across industries have already lost jobs in the early weeks of the year.
Morgan Stanley is laying off approximately 2,500 employees — about 3% of its global workforce — across the entirety of its investment bank, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the firm is not making a public statement about the cuts.
The layoffs come as tens of thousands of white-collar workers across U.S. industries have already lost jobs in the first two months of 2026. The financial sector has not been spared: Citigroup and BlackRock have reportedly trimmed their own headcounts in recent weeks.
The cuts will not affect Morgan Stanley’s financial advisors, according to the person familiar with the matter. Instead, the firm is cutting employees who provide support functions inside its wealth management division, which has been among the bank’s most profitable businesses.
Pandemic hiring that has since reversed
Morgan Stanley expanded aggressively during the pandemic years, growing from roughly 60,000 employees in 2019 to approximately 82,000 by the end of 2022. The firm had 83,000 employees at the close of 2025. The current round of reductions represents the first significant headcount pullback the firm has announced in the post-pandemic period.
The dynamic is not unique to Morgan Stanley. Financial technology company Block — which owns Cash App and the point-of-sale platform Square — last week announced it would cut 40% of its workforce. Block founder Jack Dorsey said productivity gains from artificial intelligence drove the decision. Industry observers noted, however, that Block had effectively tripled its workforce between 2019 and 2025, growing from approximately 3,800 workers to 12,000.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the Morgan Stanley layoffs.