In recent months, news of layoffs and business structure adjustments in the mainland securities industry have been frequent. With the mid-year reports of listed securities firms being released one after another, the overall picture of personnel movement in the industry in the first half of the year is becoming clearer. It is worth noting that among the 22 listed securities firms, there have been changes in employee numbers, with 18 of them reducing their staff.
According to a report by “First Finance and Economics,” data shows that as of the end of June this year, the total number of employees in 50 comparable listed securities firms (or their parent companies) was approximately 317,400, a decrease of 6,760 compared to the end of last year.
During this wave of layoffs, large securities firms have been the main drivers of job cuts. For example, in the first half of the year, China Merchants Securities saw a decrease of 1,381 employees, becoming the firm with the largest number of job cuts. In addition, Citic Securities reduced 779 employees, Guotai Junan Securities reduced 756, with Citic Construction Investment, GF Securities, and CICC all cutting over 500 employees, indicating that large securities firms have undergone significant staff adjustments under overall market pressure.
Other large securities firms such as Guotai Junan, Haitong Securities, and CICC also saw significant reductions in staff numbers, with reductions of 309, 240, and 203 employees respectively. These changes indicate that despite these large securities firms holding dominant positions in the market, they still face challenges of performance pressure and business structure adjustments.
Looking at specific business lines, securities brokers and general securities business employees have been the hardest hit by this round of layoffs. As of the end of the second quarter of this year, the number of general securities business employees in 18 listed securities firms was approximately 214,800, a decrease of over 7,000 compared to the end of last year. In terms of securities brokers, the total was 32,324, a decrease of nearly 5,000 from the end of last year. Brokerage sales and investment bankers also saw slight reductions, indicating a decreasing demand for these traditional roles in the industry.
However, at the same time, there has been a counter-trend growth in positions such as investment advisors and analysts. By the end of the second quarter of this year, the number of investment advisors reached 78,000, an increase of around a thousand from the end of last year. The total number of analysts reached 4,952, an increase of over 300 from the end of last year, showing an increasing demand in the industry for specialized, analytical positions. In addition, the total number of sponsoring representatives also increased, reaching 8,788 by the end of the second quarter, a slight increase of 156 from the end of last year.
Analysis in the report points out that the increase and decrease in the number of securities firm employees is not only related to market conditions but also closely linked to changes in company equity and strategic adjustments. For example, while China Merchants Securities has cut over a thousand employees, the firm has experienced significant changes in its equity structure in recent years. Three years ago, China’s Cinda acquired part of China Merchants Securities’ equity, and in March of this year, there were market rumors of a merger between China Merchants Securities and Ping An Securities, further intensifying market scrutiny of its future development.
Furthermore, with China Cinda being the fourth largest shareholder of China Merchants Securities, they announced in mid-August this year plans to reduce their holdings, intending to reduce no more than 82.32 million shares between September and December, accounting for 1% of the company’s total share capital. These changes in equity ownership reflect that the securities industry is undergoing profound structural adjustments, which have far-reaching impacts on the number of employees and business arrangements.
In addition to changes in equity ownership, market conditions and policy adjustments are also essential factors driving changes in the number of securities firm employees. Since the temporary tightening of IPOs in August of last year, securities investment banking businesses have entered a contraction phase, leading some firms to adjust their investment banking staff. For example, in April of this year, there were reports that Citic Securities reassigned over a hundred equity business staff to alleviate employee pressure following the slowdown in IPO business.