People whose jobs were eliminated due to cost-cutting restructuring often blame Wall Street, or at least the profit-driven mania symbolized by the Manhattan street that houses the New York Stock Exchange. It turns out that downsizing may have played a sizable role in the New York Stock Exchange's embarrassing four-hour shutdown last Wednesday. Nathaniel Popper at The New York Times explains:
Since Intercontinental Exchange, known as ICE, bought the New York Stock Exchange in 2012, the company, which is based in Atlanta, has cut hundreds of workers from the exchange. That included almost everyone in the exchange's top ranks.... ICE, which has grown into a juggernaut through a series of acquisitions, mostly of derivatives exchanges, is known for its relentless focus on cost-cutting and efficiency. But the reductions in New York have been under scrutiny because of the possibility that they left the exchange without enough experienced people to manage a crisis like the one it faced last Wednesday. [New York Times]
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