Administration November 6, 2008

Fidelity Announces Job Cuts

November 6, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Fidelity Investments said Thursday it will cut nearly 1,300 jobs this month, and more layoffs are coming early next year, as declining markets have eroded mutual fund assets along with the fees Fidelity earns.
Reported by

Layoff notices will go out later this month to about 2.9% of Fidelity’s overall work force of 44,400, the Associated Press reports. Fidelity spokesperson Anne Crowley told the AP the first round of cuts will be roughly proportionate at Fidelity’s locations in Massachusetts, Florida, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah.

A second round of layoffs is planned in the first three months of next year. Crowley said both rounds will cumulatively affect fewer than 4,000 jobs — contradicting a recently rumored figure (See Fidelity Confirms It Is Reviewing Costs and Staffing).

“Fidelity’s business model is based on assets under management, and the fees they generate,” said Jim Lowell, a former Fidelity employee who runs the independent newsletter Fidelity Investor, according to the AP.

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