BT. Alex Brown braced for cuts

LONDON STAFF at BT. Alex Brown, the investment bank, have braced themselves for swingeing job cuts next week after its parent, Bankers Trust, said it was seeking to reduce expenses by 8 per cent after declaring third-quarter losses of $488m earlier this week.

At least 30 people have left the firm, which employs 2,400 in London, this week, including six well-regarded equity research analysts, in spite of the repeated insistence by the firm that only "minimal" cuts would take place. Yesterday, the firm said it would close its Moscow office.

One source described BT's behaviour as "brutal". There were reports of people being marched off the premises by security guards, in contrast to the behaviour of Merrill Lynch, which is observing a month's consultation period with official employee representatives before firing staff.