‘This is never easy’ – BlackRock to cut about 200 staff

US: BlackRock told its employees that it will reduce its workforce by about 1%, or around 200 staff, following its commitment to over US$25 billion (about S$34 billion) in acquisitions last year to grow its presence in private-market assets and data.

According to Bloomberg, the cuts were confirmed in a memo on Wednesday (Jan 8) by BlackRock’s president Rob Kapito and chief operating officer Rob Goldstein.

In the memo, they said, “As part of these firmwide efforts, we will be making changes today that will see approximately 1 per cent of our colleagues leave the firm.”

“This is never easy,” they added.

BlackRock has over 21,000 employees, with around 200 staff members affected by the job cut.

In 2024, the firm hired 3,750 people and expects to add 2,000 more in 2025 following the deals for Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), HPS Investment Partners, and Preqin.

The US$12.5 billion purchase of GIP was finalised on Oct 1, while the US$12 billion deal for HPS is set to close mid-year. The US$3.2 billion Preqin acquisition, which was expected to close before 2024 ended, is still pending.

The BlackRock executives explained that they believe these investments will strengthen the organisation, making it better positioned to serve clients over the long term. They also said the investments will help accelerate the firm’s growth in 2025.

On Jan 7, BlackRock became the latest substantial shareholder of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, as announced by the maritime vessel maker in a bourse filing, according to The Business Times. The filing stated that BlackRock acquired 10.8 million shares of the company on Jan 3, although the amount of consideration was not disclosed. /TISG

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