The bank will be taking many opportunities to reduce headcount, focussed on higher paid staff with longer tenures and located in offices away from regional HQs. Lower merit and bonus payments is one tool as is performance measurement forced on a bell curve, with "lower" performers being offboarded with limited severance. Most staff based at home will be offboarded unless they can commute to an office.
The number of hired interns will continue to increase and be used to backfill positions that cannot be offshored to Poland or India. This is the model that Goldmans employed a number of years ago.
Unfortuntely, this is now part of the Bank's culture and DNA.
The office closures and changes that will be announced include (sorry for being blunt):
- Edinburgh to close - no, or very limited, relocation of staff
- Pittsburgh to be downsized - announcement made to exit 500 Grant street
- Wexford and Cork to close and be absorbed into Dublin - no, or very limited, relocation of staff and opportunity to reduce headcount
- Wellesley and other Boston area locations to close and move to One Boston Place - opportunity to reduce headcount and floorplan
- Manchester to expand to take further roles from London and limited number from Edinburgh
- Poole to close albeit not immediately