Merrill 2008 hiring freeze memo

Image via Wikipedia Well I definitely called it wrong for this year at least, with my post suggesting Merrill Lynch in London would be expanding to soak up the tax losses. A leaked Merrill Lynch internal memo featured in Here Is The City states that they have imposed a global hiring freeze for the rest of 2008. The freeze will be imposed across the board, excluding retail broking, and will apply to

• positions where budget has already been allocated
  
• permanent, contract and temporary positions, and includes replacement hires
• contract renewals are forbidden
  

Exceptions will be considered, but all applications will need to be submitted to Merrill's Management Committee by a senior sponsor (that wishes to curtail their future career with the firm!).

That should ensure there will be hordes of recruitment agents crying into old job specs reminiscing about the good old days.