Wall Street eliminated 10 600 jobs last year, most since 2016

The biggest US banks cut their combined headcount last year by the most in almost a decade as executives sought to keep a lid on costs through what’s typically the biggest expense line item.

The six largest firms — JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley — had a combined 1.09 million employees at the end of December. That’s down about 10 600 from a year earlier to the lowest level since 2021. The last time the group cut so many jobs was in 2016, when headcount fell by roughly 22 000 from the preceding year.

Efficiency is the name of the game on Wall Street these days. Most banks swelled their ranks during the pandemic-induced deal boom, only to have to cut jobs during a sharp slowdown beginning in 2022. More recently, the question has evolved into how artificial intelligence might replace humans.

Wells Fargo was by far the biggest driver of reductions last year, as chief executive officer Charlie Scharf continued to make strides turning around the firm. Headcount at year-end was down more than 12 000 from a year earlier – to 205 198 – the lowest level since before it bought Wachovia during the 2008 financial crisis. In a conference call Wednesday, Scharf touted 22 consecutive quarters of reductions, and he has said previously that there’s more to come.

Citigroup, working through a turnaround of its own, ended the year with 3 000 fewer employees than it had at the end of 2024. Bloomberg reported Monday that the bank would trim about 1 000 more jobs this week, and CEO Jane Fraser signalled additional cuts on Wednesday in a memo to employees.

Still, some firms added to their ranks last year. Goldman, for example, grew headcount 2% to 47 400 — and cited higher compensation expense as a primary driver of its 11% increase in total costs. Morgan Stanley also ended the year with about 2 500 more employees, despite cutting roughly 2,000 in March.

“There are continuing changes in terms of skills and so we will look at the types of heads that we need in different groups and divisions,” Morgan Stanley Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya said in an interview Thursday. As for potential future reductions, she said there’s “nothing to talk about at this point.”

JPMorgan, which has grown its headcount rapidly over the past five years, again added employees in 2025, though it did so at the slowest pace since the start of the pandemic.

Bank of America, meanwhile, has been leaning on attrition. CEO Brian Moynihan said Wednesday that he expects the number of people his firm employs to drop this year, adding that “we can just make decisions not to hire and let the headcount drift down.”

Every time someone leaves, the bank assesses whether they need to be replaced, said Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick.

© 2026 Bloomberg

Follow Moneyweb’s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.