Asset manager BlackRock (BLK) has announced that it is cutting 3% of its global workforce ahead of its fourth quarter financial results that are scheduled to be released on Jan. 12.
BlackRock, which is the world's largest asset manager with $9.42 trillion U.S. of assets under management, said it is letting go 600 employees, or 3% of its global workforce, as it seeks to reallocate resources.
“We see our industry changing faster than at any time since the founding of BlackRock,” said the company’s management team in a memo to staff. “And, perhaps most profound, new technologies are poised to transform our industry – and every other industry.”
BlackRock said it still expects to have a larger worldwide staff by the end of 2024, even with the current cuts, as it expands certain parts of its business.
This is the latest in a series of job cuts at BlackRock. The company cut more than 500 staff in 2023.
The asset-management industry has had a difficult time in recent years, having been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, a bear market in both stocks and bonds in 2022, and higher interest rates in 2023.
In October, BlackRock reported its first quarterly outflows since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
BlackRock’s clients pulled $13 billion U.S. from its long-term investment funds, including from actively managed products that typically charge higher fees than index funds.
The company is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its application to launch a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).
BlackRock’s stock has gained 5% in the last 12 months to trade at $794.52 U.S. per share.
