Tech Layoffs to Come at State Street and ITG

State Street is cutting IT staff, with those at the Boston headquarters and Quincy, Massachusetts location taking the biggest hit from the layoffs.

All told, 850 jobs will be cut. Of that, 530 positions will be completely eliminated and 320 workers will be assigned to work for IT vendors IBM and Wipro Technologies.

Word is that most of the IT staff from State Street that are sent to vendors will not need to relocate. State Street announced that the 530 non-client facing IT employees will get "severance and outplacement services as their roles are eliminated over the course of the next 18-20 months."

In November, State Street announced it would eventually cut about 1,400 jobs in 2011. About two-thirds of those positions have already been eliminated, and there are more to come later this year. The first reduction came in December. The 1,400 cut represents 5 percent of State Street's workforce. The reduction is hitting the Boston region hard, given State Street is one of Massachusetts' largest employers.

While it's hard to imagine that tech could see such deep cutbacks, given it's a driving force in finance, State Street isn't the only one cutting back. Financial research and tech provider Investment Technology Group (ITG) announced a major cost reduction plan, including staffing, consulting and infrastructure cuts. The firm pointed to "weakness in institutional equity trading volumes in the U.S. and Europe" as the motivator. No further details on the numbers, as of yet.