The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (Nasdaq®), today announced that it is implementing a ten percent reduction in its workforce, eliminating approximately 140 positions from its employment base of slightly over 1,300. The reduction is in response to market conditions affecting much of the U.S. economy — which, for Nasdaq, translates into weakness in the new issue business, including a sharp decline in the number of initial public offerings. The workforce reductions are in non-core areas and will not affect the implementation and timing of key strategic initiatives, such as SuperSoes (Nasdaq’s new streamlined execution facility, which will begin roll out on July 9), Primex (a new electronic auction system), SuperMontage (Nasdaq’s next generation trading platform coming in early 2002), and Nasdaq’s global initiatives.
Wick Simmons, Nasdaq’s chief executive officer, commented, “Nasdaq is not immune to changes in market conditions. We will continue to actively manage our business in response to both the challenges and the opportunities in the marketplace. With the changes we are making we believe that we will be correctly sized for the current and foreseeable market conditions. We have reduced our expense base without impacting our key strategic initiatives, including SuperSoes, Primex, SuperMontage, and our global initiatives.”
The Nasdaq Stock Market lists over 4,400 companies, has a larger dollar volume, and trades more shares per day than any other market in the world. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the Nasdaq NewsroomSM at www.nasdaqnews
