(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (N:MS) on Thursday pledged to not cut any jobs this year, according to a memo seen by Reuters, as the Wall Street bank sought to reassure employees worried about their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
The contents of the memo were confirmed by a Morgan Stanley spokesman.
"While long term we can't be sure how this will play out, we want to commit to you that there will not be a reduction in force at Morgan Stanley in 2020," Chief Executive Officer James Gorman said in the note.
Gorman also spoke about the Federal Reserve's "extraordinary" actions, calling them necessary.
The Fed slashed interest rates to near zero earlier this month. The central bank also announced programs that represent a never-before-seen intervention as it aims to cast a financial lifeline to millions of American companies.
"Markets cannot function without liquidity, and the Federal Reserve and other global regulators have taken real steps to address this critical issue," Gorman said.
He added that "way too many people" have lost their jobs overnight, and it is essential for governments to act as aggressively as they can.
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits surged to a record of more than 3 million last week as strict measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic brought the country to a sudden halt, unleashing a wave of layoffs that likely ended the longest employment boom in U.S. history.
"Aside from a performance issue or a breach of the Code of Conduct, your jobs are secure ... At the end of this year, we will know what we are dealing with, and hopefully the economy will be on the mend by then," Gorman told Morgan Stanley's 57,000 employees.
About 90% of Morgan Stanley's employees are currently working from home.