CSFBdirect Inc. yesterday said that it plans to eliminate 180 jobs, 14 percent of its workforce.
The company, which is the online brokerage unit of investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston, attributed the reduction to a slump in customer stock trading. The staff cuts will occur in the Jersey City headquarters and a Charlotte, NC, facility. Roughly half of the staff cuts will be in technology positions.
The cuts will contribute to a one-time pretax charge of approximately $16 million in the second quarter of this year, and follow a 10 percent employee reduction announced by the company about three months ago.
Analysts expect that the online brokerage will be eventually folded back into its parent company in a transaction valuing the company about $4 per share, or $73.6 million.
The layoffs follow similar moves made by other large competitors including Charles Schwab Corp., Ameritrade Holding Corp. and Datek Online Holdings Corp.
CSFBdirect shares were down approximately 2.2 percent to $4.90 at the close of trading yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange.
