Report Predicts Massive Layoffs on Wall Street

It’s been tough going of late for New York City’s securities industry, and it looks like its going to get a lot worse before it gets any better, according to a new report out Tuesday from the state’s comptroller.

Wall Street could lose another 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012, bringing the total number of jobs eliminated since 2008 to 32,000, according to the report from Thomas DiNapoli’s office.

“It now seems likely that profits will fall sharply, job losses will continue, and bonuses will be smaller than last year,” DiNapoli said in a downer of a statement. “As we know, when Wall Street slows, New York City and New York State’s budgets feel the impact, and that is a concern.”

The Wall Street Journal notes that several major banks have announced that they may cut jobs this year, including Goldman Sachs, Barclays PLC, and Bank of America.

But as the backlash against financial institutions continues (See: Wall Street, Occupy), it may prove hard to make the case that the government should play a role in boosting employment in the financial sector.

"Wall Street is on the defensive, having been painted as the villain in the overall economic scenario," Kathryn Wylde, president of Partnership for New York City, a group of business executives, told the Journal. "Unless we can figure out how to reposition the industry as a key to the solution for future growth, New York is going to suffer the results, suffer significant losses in both jobs and revenues."