Morgan Stanley in $1bn cost-cutting exercise, Project Streamline
James Gorman, Morgan Stanley: “Project Streamline is not to be underestimated.”
Morgan Stanley is going through a major cost-cutting initiative – Project Streamline – in an attempt to shed $1 billion in annual costs.
James Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s chairman and CEO, outlined the Project Streamline components at a recent conference the bank hosted.
Non-client travel expenses is a big part, he said, and this is already bearing fruit – non-client travel expenses are down 50% since last year, translating into a saving of $75 million annually.
1,250 support staff members will be shifted to lower-cost locations such as Bangalore, Glasgow and Baltimore.
The number of computer servers will be nearly halved, from 60,000 to 33,000.
Compensation pay will be kept in check, Gorman said (it has already been significantly cut in recent years).
“Project Streamline is not to be underestimated,” he stated. “This is a full-throated effort.”
