Fidelity Puts a Number on Q1 Cuts

The mutual fund giant last week notified 1,300 workers that their positions had been eliminated (see Fidelity Announces Job Cuts), and on Friday confirmed that the second wave of cuts would total about another 1,700 jobs. More precisely, according to the Wall Street Journal, Fidelity’s president, Rodger Lawson, told employees in a video-conference Friday that the total number of layoffs would include about 3,000 employees, or about 7% of Fidelity’s total work force of 44,000.

Fidelity attributed the need for cutbacks to the market downturn. While the firm is cutting its work force in most divisions, it said that no portfolio managers or investment analysts will be affected by the layoffs. The company says it’s also trying to maintain staff in its customer-service departments.