Jan. 15 at 10:19 PM
PickAlpha Midday:
The big six US banks ended 2025 with ~1.09M employees, down ~10.6k YoY — the largest combined headcount cut since 2016. The cuts were concentrated in WFC (-12k) and Citi (-3k), while GS and MS actually grew headcount and JPM added at a slower pace.
Tickers:
$JPM $WFC $C
Here’s what matters: Our view is this is macro-disinflationary and late-cycle “efficiency tightening,” not recession panic. Banks are leaning into cost discipline + AI/automation to defend margins, which quietly reduces white-collar wage pressure even if top-line activity holds up. If this spreads beyond banks (consulting, tech ops, back-office), it supports the “soft-landing” setup: slower wage inflation + stable demand — and that keeps the Fed’s runway open.
