Morgan Stanley plans to eliminate approximately 2,000 positions later this month, marking the first major workforce reduction under Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick. According to AdvisorHub, the layoffs will affect employees across the firm but will not include its 15,000 financial advisors, sources familiar with the matter said.

The firm, which employs around 80,000 people, had been planning the cuts before recent market volatility. The decision reflects an effort to control costs as executives grapple with lower-than-expected employee attrition.

Morgan Stanley joins other major financial institutions in reducing staff amid economic uncertainty, AdvisorHub reports. Goldman Sachs recently accelerated its annual layoffs, planning to shrink its workforce by 3 percent to 5 percent this spring.

At a recent conference, Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz acknowledged that merger and acquisition activity and equity issuance have stalled. However, he noted that the firm continues to hire senior investment bankers in anticipation of a market rebound.

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