Raymond James cutting 500 jobs

Raymond James Financial Inc. said Tuesday it was cutting 500 jobs, spelling layoffs for 4% of its workforce, in order to control costs during the pandemic.

No financial advisers are reportedly part of the job cuts. The company, which has 13,900 employees, began telling its workers of the decision on Tuesday.

While other industries like travel and dining have seen wholesale layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant economic falloff, the broad financial services industry has been fairly robust, benefiting from a stock market that rebounded sharply after it fell 35% in March. Raymond James for several years has seen increases in profitability as well as consistently strong recruiting.

The reason was to control costs, said CEO Paul Reilly, in an email to employees.

"This has been a year like no other," according to Reilly's email. "A year when we’ve all had to make hard decisions, decisions where none of the available options are the ones we would usually choose."

"Among the most difficult choices I have made, along with the other members of the executive and operating committees, is the decision that was shared with affected associates this morning — that we are eliminating their jobs as part of overall cost controls," Reilly noted.

He added that senior executives including himself would take pay cuts and that the company did not intend another round of job cuts.  

The large majority of positions eliminated were corporate roles and cuts were limited in adviser and client support areas to avoid impacting service levels, spokesperson Steve Hollister said in an email. The reductions in jobs brings the company back to 2019 levels of employment, he added.