Cost Cuts at MS
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Print Morgan Stanley's Mack to Cut $600 Million in Costs (Update1)March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer John Mack, who has fired 1,000 brokers and two dozen senior bankers since taking over in June, plans to cut more than $600 million in costs during the next two years.
``Every dollar we save drops directly to the bottom line,'' Mack told employees in a one-page internal memo. Acknowledging that profit margins have lagged rivals in recent years, he asked workers to ``think and act like owners'' and offer ideas to help reduce expenses.
Morgan Stanley was the only one of the world's top five securities firms to report a decline in 2005 profit. The firm, based in New York, said net income fell 5 percent to $4.26 billion from a year earlier. Mack said at a Nov. 15 conference that he hoped to double earnings in five years.
Mack earned the nickname ``Mack the Knife'' earlier in his career for a reputation of fast action and deep cuts. He didn't mention any job reductions in the memo.
``We have no immediate plans to meet productivity and expense targets through headcount reduction,'' Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Jeanmarie McFadden said in response to the memo. ``That is not what this is about.''
Mack assigned Chief Financial Officer David Sidwell to lead the effort, according to the memo. He named London-based Vice Chairman Amelia Fawcett and New York-based Robert Gartland, a managing director in charge of infrastructure, as its co-heads, according to the memo.
``They will be organizing working groups to find ways we can become more efficient and intelligently reduce expenses,'' Mack wrote.
So I don't work for that clown. But is he going to kick back that $20 some million they paid him? Forgive me for not knowing the exact figure! But it sounds like he wants you to watch every penny and paper clip and will fire you in a minute while he sits back and collects the cash! Sounds almost as bad as Jones
Man I am glad I am indy. I could not put up with that crap!
Today we were told that we have to bring in our own paper for the printers and that MS was no longer buying it for us!
[quote=frumhere]Today we were told that we have to bring in our own paper for the printers and that MS was no longer buying it for us![/quote]
Did you get the bill yet for your long distance line? That one didn't bother me as much as the fee for my little mail slot at the wire room
[quote=mikebutler222]
[quote=frumhere]Today we were told that we have to bring in our own paper for the printers and that MS was no longer buying it for us![/quote]
Did you get the bill yet for your long distance line? That one didn't bother me as much as the fee for my little mail slot at the wire room
[/quote]
WOW This is a first. Mike B taking a shot at MS.
What do you mean next. I just went to the “loo” and i was allocated 10 piece of toilet paper. I asked, “what if I need more”. I was then told to increase my fiber intake which will ultimately cut down on TWN (total wipes needed).
TWN - that’s good. But instead of toilets, wouldn’t it be more profitable to simply drill a 10 ft hole in each office/cube and give you some potting soil to cover it up. Saves on water and sewage usage and keeps you in your office.
[quote=BrokerRecruit]TWN - that's good. But instead of toilets, wouldn't it be more profitable to simply drill a 10 ft hole in each office/cube and give you some potting soil to cover it up. Saves on water and sewage usage and keeps you in your office.[/quote]
Actually it's been discussed that we simply cut a hole in the floor in the restrooms and let things settle on the insurance office below us.
FWIW, MS has obviously been sensitized to the issue of brokers leaving the firm. On the internal broker website there’s “welcome new brokers” list that IDs the new recruits and the firms they came from since Jan 1. The current list is about 60 names long, and it seems most of the new arrivals came from Smith Barney (not a single ex-Joneser on the list)
Actually, we did cut a hole in the floor in my office and we continue to $hit on Edward Jones! Too easy to pass up.
[quote=frumhere]Actually, we did cut a hole in the floor in my office and we continue to $hit on Edward Jones! Too easy to pass up.[/quote]
What in the world were you thinking leasing space in a building that would accept a Jones office as an occupant? What else is there? A check cashing store with a "rent to own" wing?
[quote=NY_BROKER][quote=mikebutler222]
[quote=frumhere]Today we were told that we have to bring in our own paper for the printers and that MS was no longer buying it for us![/quote]
Did you get the bill yet for your long distance line? That one didn't bother me as much as the fee for my little mail slot at the wire room
[/quote]
WOW This is a first. Mike B taking a shot at MS.
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You're just never going to grasp it, are you? There's joking, and then there's your hysteria (with several deadlines passed) that there will be another massive cut with a production level foolishly high. (Notice MS pre broker production is now tied with UBS and SB, second only to ML)
BTW, did MS fire you or something? I mean, everyone's entitled to an opinion, but when you chimed in whining that some MS Institutional guys were fired for taking clients to a strip club when the firm policy in big, bold letters is "DON'T TAKE CLIENTS TO STRIP CLUBS" you really seemed to have an axe to grind.
[quote=mikebutler222][quote=NY_BROKER][quote=mikebutler222]
[quote=frumhere]Today we were told that we have to bring in our own paper for the printers and that MS was no longer buying it for us![/quote]
Did you get the bill yet for your long distance line? That one didn't bother me as much as the fee for my little mail slot at the wire room
[/quote]
WOW This is a first. Mike B taking a shot at MS.
[/quote]
You're just never going to grasp it, are you? There's joking, and then there's your hysteria (with several deadlines passed) that there will be another massive cut with a production level foolishly high. (Notice MS pre broker production is now tied with UBS and SB, second only to ML)
[/quote]
Perhaps you Mike B is the one who can't take a joke.