Nomura Holdings Inc., on course for a second straight full-year loss, plans to eliminate more than 100 positions in Asia and is stepping up job cuts in Japan, according to two people familiar with the situation.
The nation's biggest brokerage is eliminating at least 100 jobs in Tokyo, mainly among former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. employees, the sources said, declining to be identified because a public announcement hasn't been made. Nomura will also cut positions in Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asian countries as early as this year.
Nomura is accelerating staff cuts as it digests $2 billion in costs from integrating businesses acquired from bankrupt Lehman in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It said Dec. 4 it will shed as many as 1,000 workers in London, a fifth of the local workforce.
"The layoffs had to be done as the market environment has changed dramatically since Nomura took over Lehman," said Azuma Ohno, a Tokyo-based analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG. "How much remaining employees can boost the top line remains to be seen."
"We will optimize head counts in Asia on the basis of financial conditions to maintain a competitive footing," according to Nomura spokesman Toru Namikawa, declining to give details.