Morgan Stanley is making modest job cuts across the globe, Chief Executive Officer James Gorman said, as Wall Street comes under pressure with dealmaking slowing down due to the central bank's monetary tightening.
"Some people are going to be let go," Gorman said at the Reuters NEXT conference, without specifying numbers. "We're making some modest cuts all over the globe. In most businesses, that's what you do after many years of growth."
Corporations have shied away from dealmaking and stock listings as inflation in the United States continues at levels way above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. That has put pressure on investment banks like Morgan Stanley, which earned billions of dollars in advisory fees amid unfettered market optimism last year.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. have also cut jobs this year.
Speaking of Elon Musk, Gorman said he "wouldn't bet against" the billionaire Tesla Inc. chief.
"He's probably, along with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and one or two others, the most interesting entrepreneur of last 50 years. Who would not want to do business with a person who has that kind of capability," Gorman added.
Morgan Stanley was among the banks providing $13 billion in financing for Musk's $44-billion acquisition of Twitter Inc.
Reuters reported in October that banks abandoned plans to sell the debt to investors because of uncertainty around the Twitter's fortunes and losses, citing people familiar with the matter.
While Musk's management style has raised concerns among advocates of content moderation on one of the biggest social media platforms globally, he has also found support among C-suite executives.
On Wednesday, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings called Musk "the bravest, most creative person on the planet."
© 2026 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.