BlackRock Inc. plans to cut about 400 jobs in what may be the biggest round of layoffs to date at the world’s largest money manager, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The reductions, equal to about 3 percent of the firm’s 13,000 employees, will be announced in the coming weeks, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak. Despite the cuts, the firm will continue to invest and hire in key areas and expects to end the year with a higher headcount, according to one person.

Farrell Denby, a company spokesman, declined to comment. In a memo to employees, BlackRock said the job cuts have not yet been finalized and that those affected by the changes will be treated fairly and with respect.

“Being a global leader requires that we continually re- assess our organization to look for ways to serve clients better, operate more efficiently, focus resources on strategic priorities and create new opportunities for our strongest employees,” the firm said in the memo from President Rob Kapito and Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldstein.

Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said in January that the market swings at the start of this year may put pressure on companies to eliminate jobs. Revenue at BlackRock is forecast to grow just 1 percent in the first quarter and decline in the second quarter, according to 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The only other time BlackRock cut jobs on a similar scale was in 2013 after a reorganization, though it ended that year with a higher headcount.

BlackRock is following a number of money managers in letting people go as stock market volatility erodes fees earned for overseeing client assets. Global stocks, as measured by the MSCI ACWI Index, fell almost 12 percent this year through Feb. 11, before paring losses to 1.2 percent through Tuesday.

“Having a market decline like this in the first couple of weeks of the year in my mind puts a negativity across the economy,” Fink said in a Jan. 15 interview with CNBC. “I actually believe you will start seeing more layoffs in the middle part of the first quarter, definitely in the second quarter.”

Rising Costs

The company’s earnings last quarter fell short of analysts’ estimates because of rising expenses, including compensation costs. Analysts expect net income in the first quarter to fall 12 percent from a year earlier, to $727 million, according to 9 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Fink said during a conference call discussing fourth- quarter earnings that BlackRock has the mindset to make investments during volatile periods like this year while others run from them. The firm has said previously it aims to invest in areas such as infrastructure and alternatives, and wants to boost the sale of products to individual investors.

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