Legg Mason is cutting about 120 jobs, primarily in the U.S., and shrinking its executive committee by half, to four roles, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The job reductions, which are mainly back-office roles across its fund administration, marketing, operations, legal, finance and human resources departments, represent about 12% of Legg Mason's total staff. While most of the cuts involved U.S. employees — in Baltimore, where Legg Mason is headquartered, New York and Stamford, Conn. — a small number of staff were laid off in Europe and Asia, according to the spokeswoman.
The staff reductions, which occurred Thursday, "reflect the necessity, in this evolving industry, to rethink how we deliver on our mission of investing to improve the lives of our clients and other stakeholders," Legg Mason Chairman and CEO Joseph A. Sullivan wrote Thursday in an email to staff.
Legg Mason will also streamline its eight-person executive committee, eliminating the roles of executive vice presidents Frances Cashman, global head marketing and communications; Thomas K. Hoops, head of business development; John Kenney, global head of affiliate strategic initiatives; and Ursula Schliessler, chief administration officer.
Ms. Cashman, Mr. Hoops and Mr. Kenney will leave the firm at the end of 2019, while Ms. Schliessler will leave July 1, Mr. Sullivan wrote.
The move follows a separate round of job cuts in February, which occurred at one of Legg Mason's nine affiliates and involved a "very small number (of staff) in the single digits," the spokeswoman said.
She declined to confirm which affiliate made the job cuts.
Legg Mason, which had $758 billion in assets under management as of March 31, has nine affiliates: Brandywine Global Investment Management, Clarion Partners, ClearBridge Investments, EnTrustPermal Securities, Martin Currie Investment Management, QS Investors, RARE Infrastructure; Royce & Associates and Western Asset Management.
