Merrill lays off hundreds of short-tenured advisers

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. yesterday gave pink slips to hundreds of financial advisers in its wealth management unit who were hired within the last two years, according to Selena Morris, a spokeswoman for the former Wall Street giant.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. yesterday gave pink slips to hundreds of financial advisers in its wealth management unit who were hired within the last two years, according to Selena Morris, a spokeswoman for the former Wall Street giant.
She declined to state the exact number of brokers to be let go, but said that the layoffs were performance-based.
Bank of America Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., took over Merrill Lynch on Jan. 1.
About six weeks ago, Merrill began to lay off close to 400 advisers in its training program amid industry criticism that Bank of America was overlooking the value of keeping up-and-coming brokers (InvestmentNews, Dec. 17).
A Bank of America spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the latest Merrill broker cuts.