Top Firm Said Cutting Another $1bn, Jobs To Go

Nomura plans to cut an additional $1bn of costs, mainly by eliminating jobs abroad, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Bloomberg reports that the reductions will focus on wholesale operations overseas, including investment banking and equities, Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai told Nomura executives today in Tokyo, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the meeting was private.

Nagai’s move marks his first step toward reversing an expansion abroad overseen by predecessor Kenichi Watanabe, who stepped down a month ago amid an insider-trading scandal. Nomura, which has posted losses overseas for nine straight quarters, implemented a $1.2bn cost-cutting program last year after expenses swelled following the purchase of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s Asian and European businesses in 2008.

'A billion dollars is perhaps in the upper range of what market participants expected', said Azuma Ohno, a Tokyo-based analyst at Barclays Plc. 'Job cuts are unavoidable given the severe global business environment. Nomura will have to explain how the reductions will help to improve its bottom line'.

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Nomura’s Nagai Said to Plan $1 Billion More in Expense Cuts

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