AllianceBernstein, which reported its third-quarter results on Thursday, ended September with 4,544 employees. By yearend, the firm will bring headcount down to 4,400, a company spokesman told The MFWire.

In September 2008, it employed 5,663 people. It started implementing layoffs at the end of 2008 amid the market downturn.

AllianceBernstein CEO Peter Kraus told analysts that the cuts were not too deep.

"We never stopped investing," Kraus was quoted in a Reuters report as saying. He pointed to the growth of teams that invest in real estate and special government programs. "We're setting the stage for what we think is (a sustainable) operating margin on the way up, and feel comfortable with it," he added.

AllianceBernstein reported net income of $199 million in the third quarter, down from the $219 million in the year-ago period. Diluted income per unit declined to 67 cents per share from 73 cents last year.

Still, the results exceeded analysts' expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected an average of 45 cents per unit.

Revenue was $806.8 million compared to $850 million in the same period last year. Total assets under management jumped to $498 billion at September's close, up from $447 billion in June. Assets under management have yet to recover their September 2008 levels and are still down 16 percent.

Trimmed operating expenses stemming from layoffs that began at the end of 2008 underlie the company's better-than-expected performance. 

Edited by: Patricia Kelly


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