BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has conducted another round of layoffs, which will impact less than 1% of staff, according to a spokesman for the company.
An internal memo issued Thursday and reviewed by Pensions & Investments attributed the layoffs to budget reallocations. The memo was sent out by Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldstein.
"During our recent business review process some of our businesses identified opportunities to reallocate budget to support critical priorities, which will result in less than 1% of employees leaving BlackRock," the memo said.
"Even with these changes, our headcount will be higher at the end of the year compared to the start of the year as we continue to invest in our talent and our business."
The layoffs are BlackRock's second round this year, after the firm laid off 500 employees — approximately 2.5% of its global staff — in January.
After January's layoffs, which came with a $91 million restructuring charge in the fourth quarter of 2022, BlackRock's then-CFO Gary Shedlin told investors that the firm's headcount would remain "broadly flat" in 2023.
January's layoffs were the first retrenchment for BlackRock since 2019 and came after a period of rapid expansion during which the firm grew its headcount by about 22%.
BlackRock, which had $9.09 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, is not the only major player on Wall Street to slash its headcount this year. Other financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, have done at least one round of layoffs since the start of the year.
