Fitch Ratings plans to reduce its employees in Japan by a third to about 20, two sources said.
Fitch will eliminate about 10 positions for analysts and other research-related roles in Tokyo as early as this month, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the information is private. The firm earlier this week informed employees of the plan, they said.
The job cuts at Fitch, which has 50 offices worldwide, come as global investment banks and other financial institutions reduce head counts in Japan to cope with weak economic growth and reduced earnings prospects in the country. Financial firms may slash more than 3,000 positions in Japan over the next two to three years, Executive Search Partners Co., said last week.
Leslie Tan, a Singapore-based spokesman at Fitch, declined comment. The ratings company is based in New York and London.