Nomura To Shed Another 80 Jobs in Asia

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Japanese brokerage Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) plans to shed another 80 jobs in the next few months in Asia, excluding Japan, sources familiar with the matter said.

Nomura joins other major banks in slashing more jobs across Asia, a region hit hard by the financial crisis. In September, Nomura bought the Asian, European and Middle Eastern assets of Lehman Brothers, shortly after the New York brokerage collapsed.

One source familiar with the matter said most of the roughly 80 jobs would be in the investment banking division. Asia lay-offs at the bank late last year mainly hit the fixed income and equities units.

In December, local media in Tokyo said that Nomura was laying off more than 100 employees from its Asia-Pacific operations by the end of the month.

The roughly 80 jobs targeted would be on top of the December cuts, sources said. Of that 80, some were cut in the last few weeks, and the rest will be spread out over the next couple of months.

Around 25 are expected to get pink slips on Wednesday, according to one of the sources.

“As part of the transition process, we are always evaluating business opportunities in light of changing market conditions and are now making strategic decisions about resource allocation and employment levels,” said Nomura spokesman Matthew Russell.

“This process will continue to evolve as market conditions change. The objective is to ensure that the company remains competitive in the markets where we operate,” he said.

As of the end of September, Nomura had a total of 18,971 employees, with 1,180 people in Asia, excluding Japan. Nomura took on about 1,500 employees from Lehman’s operations in the Asia-Pacific region when it struck the deal.

A total of 8,000 Lehman employees joined Nomura globally.

Nomura plans to use the Lehman acquisition to strengthen its banking presence beyond Japan. Since the deal, however, global markets have fallen sharply, causing further pain for the banking industry.

Nomura, however, is continuing to hire in certain areas. In Asia, it has poached two former Citigroup (C.N) bankers for its investment banking team: Shaheryar Chishty and Marc Benton.

By Clare Jim and Michael Flaherty
(Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Rupert Winchester)