Investing.com -- BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK). has announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 1% as part of a strategic realignment, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. This decision comes after the company spent more than $25 billion on acquisitions last year to broaden its capabilities in private-market assets and data.
The workforce reduction was communicated to BlackRock employees in a memo from President Rob Kapito and Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldstein on Wednesday. With a current staff count exceeding 21,000, the cuts will affect around 200 employees.
Kapito and Goldstein stated in the memo, "As part of these firmwide efforts, we will be making changes today that will see approximately 1% of our colleagues leave the firm. This is never easy."
Despite the layoffs, BlackRock's overall employee count is set to grow. The firm added 3,750 employees in 2024 and plans to onboard an additional 2,000 this year, following its acquisitions of Global Infrastructure Partners and private credit firm HPS Investment Partners.
In the memo, the BlackRock executives expressed their belief in the strategic benefits of these investments, stating, "We believe these investments make us a stronger and more dynamic organization that is even better positioned to serve clients over the long term. These investments will enable us to accelerate our momentum in 2025."
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