NEW YORK — Job cuts are continuing across the financial sector, with Morgan Stanley and Capital One announcing additional layoffs as companies adjust staffing levels following rapid hiring during the pandemic and broader changes in the industry.
The move follows an earlier announcement by Block that it is cutting more than 4,000 jobs — about 40% of its workforce — citing the growing role of artificial intelligence in how the company operates, as the CU Daily reported here.
Morgan Stanley is laying off roughly 2,500 employees, or about 3% of its workforce, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the firm has not issued a public statement about the cuts.
The layoffs are occurring across the company’s investment banking operations, the person said.
Like many financial firms, Morgan Stanley significantly expanded its workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s headcount grew from about 60,000 employees in 2019 to 82,000 by the end of 2022. Morgan Stanley reported about 83,000 employees at the end of 2025.
Tens of Thousands of Cuts
The reductions come as layoffs mount across the financial and technology sectors early in the year. Tens of thousands of job cuts have been announced just two months into the year, many involving white-collar positions, the AP reported.
As the report noted, several major financial firms have trimmed staffing levels. Citigroup and BlackRock have reportedly reduced their headcounts. Last week, financial technology company Block — which owns Cash App and point-of-sale company Square — announced it would cut about 40% of its workforce, more than 4,000 jobs, citing productivity gains tied to artificial intelligence.
Cutbacks Following Capital One Acquisition of Discover
Meanwhile, Capital One Financial is eliminating additional positions tied to Discover’s Chicago-area headquarters as the bank moves forward with integrating Discover into its operations.
According to a notice filed on an Illinois state layoff website, 1,075 employees are scheduled to be laid off in May and another 81 on June 1. The company most recently notified the state of the job cuts on Tuesday.
Those figures bring the total number of scheduled layoffs reported by Capital One in Illinois to 1,748 between October 2025 and October 2026, according to the state website.
In an email, a Capital One spokesperson said the role eliminations affect multiple job categories within Discover.
‘Difficult Decision’
“As part of our continued journey to integrate Discover with Capital One, we announced the difficult decision to eliminate some Discover associate roles across the organization,” the spokesperson said. “Our focus right now is on fully supporting our colleagues impacted by this change. We provided at least 60 days of notice to impacted employees and we are providing comprehensive career transition support, including enhanced severance, benefits, and outplacement resources.”
A letter Capital One sent to Illinois officials said the job cuts, announced Feb. 23, will affect at least 1,139 employees across 302 different job titles.
