"Banking layoffs could top 200,000 "
"by Associated Press | April 2, 2008
NEW YORK - The US financial industry has been shedding jobs at a record clip, and some analysts predict the pace will only accelerate over the next year-and-a-half as banks cut costs in the face of the housing market slump and the weak economy.
Analysts at the financial research firm Celent LLC said in a report yesterday they expect the US commercial banking industry - essentially, all companies that lend or collect deposits - to lose 200,000 of its 2 million jobs over the next 12 to 18 months.
An annual loss of 200,000 jobs at US commercial banks would be an unprecedented number....
Octavio Marenzi, the head of Celent's financial consultancy unit:
"The banking industry over the past 40 years has never seen a downturn in its revenue growth. In 2008, it looks like it will decrease for the first time in living memory...."
And Celent's estimate does not include the securities industry, which currently employs some 800,000 - more than it ever has, after a multiyear hiring spree, Marenzi said."Can you say SEVERE DEPRESSION, readers?
What are these guys going to do for work?
