Bear Stearns lays off 310 workers

updated 1:54 p.m. ET Oct. 3, 2007

NEW YORK - Bear Stearns Cos. said Wednesday it is laying off 310 workers and fusing its two mortgage businesses, after turmoil in the home loan industry contributed to a dramatic slide in the investment bank’s profit.

The news came only hours after Credit Suisse Group said problems in the mortgage market will linger as long as 18 months as it announced layoffs in its commercial mortgage-backed securities division, mostly in New York.

Bear Stearns said it is integrating its Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage and Encore Credit divisions into a single subsidiary. It follows similar downsizing moves by Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley.

Stung by decaying credit quality, investors soured on many types of mortgage debt this summer. Selling home loans and other investments backed by mortgage debt became much more difficult this year, squeezing a key source of profit on Wall Street.

Bear Stearns is the company most heavily exposed to mortgages among the major investment banks. It has now laid off two-fifths of the employees in its mortgage businesses this year, the company said.

Shares of Bear Stearns lost 70 cents to $137.87. The stock is down more than 20 percent for the year.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse Group said it will lay off 170 more employees. The reductions in the investment banking unit will be on top of the 150 layoffs announced last week in New York and London, said spokesman Marc Dosch. Dosch said the cuts were in line with the reduction in client demand.

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