Financial

Jefferies quietly cut some analyst jobs

22 May 2023

2 minute read

There's a sad reality in the realm of investment banking job cuts, which is that if you're cut during a period of pervasive carnage you're probably better off than if you're cut during a period of light pruning.

Pervasive carnage cuts are those for which the individuals effected are absolved of any blame. They are cuts made by virtue of the markets, or the economy, or the geopolitical situation.

Cuts during a period of light pruning are more likely to focus on individual underperformers. If you're let go in this situation, it can be harder to find another job elsewhere.

It's not clear which category Jefferies cuts fall into this week. The bank isn't commenting, but some there are saying there's nothing to see and that this is just an annual cull of low hanging underperformant fruit. Others say it's symptomatic of poor performance of the whole business and that top performing analysts are among those let go.

This seemingly includes first year analysts, including those who were highly ranked.

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AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

1 Like

2 comments

jo
johnnymkts11
25 May 2023
Or the fact that revenues especially in their product groups/capital markets division are pretty bad and they over hired a ton. Looks like they will cut and most groups will be sweaty when activity picks up..
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ph
photobug56
24 May 2023
At certain times, some bosses use the opportunity to rid themselves of any subordinate who looks likely to be smarter, harder working, more capable of that boss. You can be the best in your group and still get canned - for a completely wrong reason. Of course, some bosses stockpile employees who are sub par just waiting for these periods to come by, so when they do, no difficult or painful analysis, they know exactly who to dump.
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