Some of the largest United States banks have been quietly laying off workers throughout the past year. The largest United States bank, JP Morgan Chase, is the only large US bank to not lay off employees, while Citi, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs have all cut jobs this year. The layoffs are most likely due to higher interest rates for mortgages, and the rise of deal-making and transaction costs on Wall Street. The reductions in company costs from the layoffs put these banks into more stable financial situations as the market conditions become more uncertain. The most severe layoffs have occurred at Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, and each company respectively laid off 5% of their workforces. Some of these banks will continue to make changes going into the end of the year, and this could result in further layoffs in the fourth quarter of the year.
See "Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs have all made significant layoffs this year", Hugh Son, CNBC, October 19, 2023