Morgan Stanley to lay off 580 US employees

US investment bank Morgan Stanley will soon lay off 580 New York employees, according to an official US document, after earlier announcing plans to eliminate 1,600 jobs by the first quarter of 2012. The New York downsizing was outlined in a document filed with the state department of labor and published Tuesday, which said the layoffs were taking place because of "economic" reasons without providing further details. The rolling layoffs began December 15, affecting four different offices, according to the document published on the department's website. On December 15, the company announced it would eliminate 1,600 positions at all levels. A source told AFP earlier this month that the layoffs would likely be concentrated in the bond business, which has been hit hard by the eurozone debt crisis. Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack is to step down at the end of this year after steering the company through the 2008 US financial crisis at a time when many of its competitors went bankrupt or lost much of their independence.