LONDON – American Express has announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce, to cope with the economic crisis.
It said the reductions will occur “across business units, markets and staff groups primarily focusing on management and other positions that do not interact directly with customersâ€.
Amex is also freezing salaries for its managers for 2009 and implementing a hiring freeze for open positions.
It believes these actions will allow it to save $700 million in 2009.
Globally, Amex plans to save another US$125 million by cutting expenses for consulting and other professional services, travel and entertainment, and general overhead.
A complete ‘re-engineering’ of the company, which also includes scaling back investment spending, is expected to save a total of around US$1.8 billion in 2009.
“We’ve been engaged for the past few months in an intensive, company-wide review of priorities and staffing levels,†said chairman and chief executive officer Kenneth Chenault.
“The re-engineering programme will help us to manage through one of the most challenging economic environments we’ve seen in many decades.â€
By Bev Fearis
