Merrill Lynch seen cutting 1,600 jobs after Q4 write-downs

Merrill Lynch & Co is set to lay off 1,600 of its staff after disclosing fourth-quarter write-downs, a CNBC report said.

The layoffs are likely to be in trading positions and related areas, and will not likely include the investment banking or private client groups, the CNBC report said.

Merrill Lynch had about 64,000 employees as of the end of September, so 1,600 layoffs would represent less than 3 per cent of its work force.

Despite some appropriate actions recently taken by several firms in terms of raising capital and taking write-downs, the credit crisis still needs a couple of quarters before it is fully digested by the market, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.