Wall Street Woes: Citigroup, UBS, BNP All Announce Job Cuts This Week

It has been a week of grim news for those who work in the financial services industry.

Citigroup announced Wednesday it was reducing head count in order to control expenses. Reports said the number of jobs cuts would total about 3,000, although the company didn't specify an exact number. The Wall Street Journal reported Citigroup might cut up to 900 jobs from its securities and banking division due to continuing turmoil in the marketplace. Later that day, BNP Paribas announced it was cutting 1,400 positions at the bank, or about 1 percent of its employee head count.

The next day, Swiss banking company UBS said it would cut around 2,000 investment banking jobs over the next five years as it looks to focus on its lower-risk wealth management division. The job cuts would bring the number of bankers down to approximately 16,000.

Furthermore, Goldman Sachs has appointed 261 new managing directors for the year, the New York Times reported Friday. Although this may seem like a lot, it is the smallest class since 2008. Goldman has also announced reductions to its head count in the future.

A report last month from the office of New York City Comptroller John Liu said the financial services industry may shed up to 10,000 jobs in New York City alone by 2012. New York City's economy is heavily reliant on Wall Street.

The announcements of job cuts in the financial sector are nothing new. For example, Bank of America plans to eliminate up to 30,000 jobs in the next several years as the embattled financial company continues to struggle due to the toxic mortgages it holds stemming from its 2008 takeover of Countrywide Financial.

For those fortunate enough to have a job in the sector, the payout likely won't be as sweet as in years past. Wall Street year-end bonuses -- including cash bonuses and equity awards -- are expected to decline by 20 percent to 30 percent compared to last year, according to a survey put out earlier this month from compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates. Those working in fixed income -- such as bond traders -- are expected to see a decrease of 35 percent to 45 percent in year-end bonuses.