Almost a quarter of financial-services firms are planning to reduce their workforces in New York City in the next five years.
That was the highest share of any industry, according to a statement Wednesday from the Partnership for New York City, which surveyed the city’s major employers over a 10-day period last month. Overall, 13% expect to cut their workforces, while roughly a third said their need for office space will decline.
Job prospects for New York’s financial-services industry are facing a double whammy: Wall Street has been moving jobs and opening offices in lower-cost locations throughout the country, including Texas and Florida, all while banks are leaning into automation and other technologies that allow them to trim staff.
Bosses' Expectations
Just 28% of the city’s 1 million office workers are back at their desks on an average weekday, according to the survey. While that’s an improvement from 23% when the Partnership last conducted its survey, in August, it’s below the 41% that employers were expecting would return by the end of September.
Employers surveyed last month expect about half their staff will return on an average weekday by the end of January. Most expect employees to spend fewer than four days a week in the office.
The status of the Covid-19 pandemic was the largest factor contributing to employers’ expectations for a slow return to the office, the Partnership found. Commuting issues and perceptions of public safety, particularly in Midtown Manhattan, were other key considerations.
“Employees’ preference for remote work ranked second, with 33% of employers indicating it was a primary driver—a marked increase from the Partnership’s June 2021 survey, when only 16% of employers indicated it was a primary driver,” the Partnership said.