According to recent reports, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has plans to close 300 branch offices and reduce its workforce by up to 1,200 over the next year. The move comes as the bank looks to cut costs and better integrate the resources of its brokerage business with those of Citigroup’s Smith Barney unit; the two merged last year.
The plan aims to create $1.1 billion in savings by the end of 2011, according to a Fox Business Network report. When Morgan Stanley merged with the Smith Barney unit, the bank became the largest broker network, with 18,000 advisors, topping Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) with roughly 15,000.
Morgan Stanley has already eliminated 200 jobs since the merger, mainly support staff. However, the coming cuts could spread further, according to the Fox report. For instance, both brokerages’ have a research analyst staff that write up reports for customers.
Morgan Stanley acquired Citigroup’s Smith Barney unit in early 2009 in a move to increase its retail brokerage business.
