Putnam Investments will lay off 256 employees, or about 4% of its staff, CEO Lawrence Lasser said in a memo sent out to the firm’s 6,000 workers.
Although Putnam had $16.5 billion in net inflows in 2000, the third-best in the mutual fund industry, Mr. Lasser said market changes this year have "unwound some of that growth” and that the firm must bring its expense levels "closer to what they were before last year’s growth spurt.” The staff reductions will cut across a variety of departments, including investments, where some functions will be combined.
