DOWNWARD

Pay Cuts For Wall Street

Lowest compensation since 2008.

Uh oh. The reports you’ve heard about Wall Street’s dismal year are about to get real—for Wall Street workers, that is. As fourth-quarter results come in and banks decide on final bonuses for the past year, The Wall Street Journal reports that compensation is likely to fall to its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Goldman Sachs will see 2010 paychecks cut in half, while fixed-income trading businesses may get smaller by 60 percent. Morgan Stanley will reportedly cut bonuses by 40 percent. Goldman employees received about $431,000 on average in 2010—that number will fall to $385,000 in 2011. (In 2007, employees received an average of $661,000 each.) The pay worries were only increased in the last months with stocks rising and falling and anxiety over global markets.