Credit Suisse Chops Floor Traders

Credit Suisse has eliminated nine jobs on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, letting seven people go and transferring two. Media reports say the move was driven by increased automation and electronic trading.

Credit Suisse has 20 people left on the floor. Its cuts continue the ebbing of the floor-trader population as banks and market makers take increasing advantage of technology and algorithmic trading. Citigroup, for example, recently reduced its staff on the grain floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, according to Financial News.

Automated trading now accounts for more than 17 percent of the NYSE's volume, the Big Board says. Observers seem unanimous in believing that proportion will increase, and as it does fewer people will be involved in many aspects of each transaction. Bloomberg says LaBranche & Co., the NYSE's largest market-maker, may cut staff because of the exchange's move toward its "Hybrid Market," which is designed to meld auction and automated trading.