Sino-Singapore Jingwei, January 12th, based on news from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal and other foreign media, BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, will lay off 500 employees, accounting for about 3% of its total workforce.

　　The job cuts are part of broader layoffs across the banking industry as a possible global recession looms.

At least 5,000 people are being cut from various banks.

In addition to Goldman Sachs cutting 3,000 jobs, Morgan Stanley also cut 1,600 jobs, while HSBC cut at least 200 jobs.

　　BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is cutting staff after an expansion in recent years, with 500 jobs affected, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

　　The asset manager is reshaping its team after wild market volatility last year, when U.S. stocks suffered their worst drop since 2008.

　　BlackRock had 19,900 employees as of Sept. 30, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Less than 3 percent of the workforce will be affected, the sources said.

　　A BlackRock spokesman said the layoffs were due to "unprecedented market conditions."

　　Not only BlackRock announced layoffs, Goldman Sachs will start to lay off 3,200 people this week, the largest layoff since the 2008 financial crisis.

　　Goldman Sachs layoffs hit investment banks and global markets hard, Reuters reported.

Paul Sobera, president of Wall Street recruiting firm Alliance Consulting, said last year was challenging for every sector, including credit, equities and investment banking.

"A lot of people don't have a budget."

　　The layoffs come as the U.S. banking giant is expected to report a drop in profit this week.

Goldman is expected to post a net profit of $2.16 billion in the fourth quarter, down 45 percent from a net profit of $3.94 billion a year earlier, according to the average forecast of analysts on Refinitiv Eikon.

　　Goldman's job cuts will be followed by a broader review of corporate travel and expenses, the Financial Times reported, as the U.S. bank counts the cost of a sharp slowdown in business deals and a slump in capital markets activity since the Ukraine crisis .

The company also cut its annual bonus payment this year to reflect depressed market conditions, with payouts expected to fall by about 40%.

(Sino-Singapore Jingwei APP)