This morning, the New York Times cited a report by independent research firm Portales Partners and speculated that “bloodletting will continue at a fast and furious pace.” What is at the heart of this speculation? Portales studied the banks headcount and revenue growth since 2004 and determined that if revenues were to fall back to 2004 levels, approximately 20 percent of current employees would need to be let go. How many have been released thus far? Portales pegs that number at 1 percent. So, the remaining 19 percent may be hanging in the balance as these firms adjust. What does this all mean for MBAs right now? Well, the banks should still be on campus, but they may eliminate some non-core schools in order to streamline recruiting costs, as they did in the years following the tech bust. Further, as we have noted before, MBA students will definitely lack leverage in negotiating salaries for the foreseeable future.
