The Capital Group Companies to cut 820 jobs

The parent company of American Funds and Capital Guardian Trust Co. will lay off 820 people over the next two weeks. Employees of the parent firm, The Capital Group Cos. Inc. of Los Angeles, received an internal memo June 1 announcing the job cuts. The reductions are being made across all divisions of The Capital Group, which has 9,000 employees, said Chuck Freadhoff, spokesman for American Funds. “We are meeting with each person individually to go over the severance package,” he said. But no investment positions, including portfolio managers or analysts, are being eliminated, Mr. Freadhoff said. “We are still interviewing and recruiting in that area.” In March, employees were told to expect layoffs due to the depressed market and decline in assets, although the number of jobs to be cut was not specified at that time. American Funds laid off 60 employees last fall and another 500 in January. The firm also eliminated merit increases this year and asked management to cut back on expenses. As of March 31, The Capital Group had $850 billion in assets under management, down from $1.2 trillion as of January 2008. American Funds and Capital Guardian Trust Co. are based in Los Angeles.