Morgan Stanley weighs cutting 7% of Asia investment bank jobs – Bloomberg News

(Reuters) -Morgan Stanley is considering a 7% cut in its Asia-Pacific investment banking workforce, with China taking the biggest hit, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The bank is likely to start communicating with affected bankers as soon as this week, with more than 40 jobs at risk, including those with the capital markets unit, Bloomberg News said.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The bank was planning to cut about 3,000 jobs in the second quarter, Reuters reported on May 1 in its second round of job cuts in six months.

Slow dealmaking and a tough economic environment are prompting the investment bank to look at its headcount, a source told Reuters at the time.

Morgan Stanley had more than 82,000 employees as of March end and the layoff of 3,000 people would affect nearly 4% of its staff.

The job cuts come as global dealmaking slows dramatically. Corporate buyout activity around the world plunged to the lowest level in a decade in the first quarter this year.