Job losses at Citi Hedge fund and Rothschild pulls out
(CNS): After more than 35 years in the Cayman Islands, Citi Hedge Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd is cutting some 22 jobs from its local office. The company has been in Cayman since 1973 and has, according to reports on Cayman 27, denied that the current cut to staff means it is exiting the islands altogether. Rothschild Trust, which has had a presence in the Cayman Islands for more than 25 years, has also announced it is closing its office and will be transfering the work to the rest of its network around the world.
"Our decision is based on our continued drive to provide an exceptional level of service to clients and to improve operational efficiency,” David McLellan, group chief executive officer of Rothschild Trust, told Wealth Bulletin. The closure represents the loss of one job for Cayman as one trust assistant has been made redundant.
Meanwhile at Citi, a spokesperson said that it would retain a presence in Cayman, but it must cut costs and increase operating efficiencies.
The job losses at Citi come in the wake of similar size cuts in the workforce at legal firm Walkers last month. Walkers said that its job losses came as a result of the impact on the global economic crisis on its clients and a need to restructure the company worldwide.
Category: Business
It is very hurtful to see the national prejudicial war going on between Caymanians and X-pats. Cayman was not like this 25 years ago. Something has gone wrong. Government was more in control of the public purse and did not have to set up a work permit mill like theimmigration board, its a down right disgrace and hurricane Paloma should have flatened out that building to the floor. And the first thing to go should have been the damn door ! As for the labor office its a real sham, what do they do there anyway give out free information? ’cause it ain’t protecting the jobs for its people. I’m about to climb up on the church steeple.
bottomline, the Bible says nations that forget God, "Strangers Trample Their Land" Uh Huh !so lets stop arguing and take a raincheck. Check the Holy Word and see where we went wrong since we say everybody is running off with our inheritance. Have yu forgotten one thing. Gods real folk is not a part of this world’s economic system anyway so whose are you?
There’s a transfer taking place, get in position, change your heart, clean up, walk in love, and faith will work for you.
When last did you worship god at your local Church.
Are you paying tithes? 10% of all earnings
what about your offerings?
Do you take your children to church with you or do you send them by themselves, leaving them to guide themselves back home escorted by horny Do Do. waiting for a chance.
Caymanians had a sense of pride and dignity and integrity at one point, many years ago, Now that has changed, everybody’s modern, and they have no idea who’se bed their daughter is in, and if she’s having protected sex or not! I mean sex is for married people according to god’s word but if they are going to have it they better protect themselves from HIV and aids. I hope the little young girls in their little hot Daisy Dukes have the strength and dignity to demand that their little fop byfriend wear a condom ’cause if he don’t it means leave school early, don’t graduate, become mummy too early and work at burger king with a cardboard cap on your head, breaking daddy’s heart..
My parents used to know everywhere we went and with whom, they could account for us in the good ole days.
How come now a days parents know where the Dog is, the cat, the bird, the jack rabit, the parakeet, the mccaw and even the Serpent!is but they don’t know where their children are. Until the police knocks on the door telling them that the child is in custody because he was out with John doe holding up the money truck or theThis & that business. How sad.
These young peope will be the leaders of tomorrow, my god what do we have to chose from, God help us. So lets stop focusing on the X-pats and begin to build Cayman and set our own house in order. You’re all married to eachother anyway so whats the problem? that’s the reason Mac and Cab ain’t paying you all no dogone mind…..’cause you wasting their time. Mac got better things to do like Beethoven all over the universe signing tax exchange agreements and enjoying the new places .
Getting off the "Grey List" doesn’t seem to have helped us much. As a matter of fact, since McKeeva went around signing agreements until he had writer’s cramp, more and more companies have moved, or are deciding to. Not such a brilliant move? And understatement perhaps. But on the bright side it gave him a chance to travel and use his Montblanc pen.
Confused, can CNS please clarify the following:
Rothschild Trust, told Wealth Bulletin. The closure represents the loss of one job for Cayman as one trust assistant has been made redundant.
How is that only one job is lost, when the firm is leaving the island? This implies that Rothschild only had one employee on island?
Well done Sherlock…..
The other staff are being redeployed elsewhere.
Right, hence my question.
If all Rothschild Cayman based employees are no longer here — how can it be that only one job is lost — doesn’t that make it all the jobs at Rothschild are lost to Cayman?
If you are only going to look at the Caymanian whose job is lost — one is not seeing the big picture. Surely there were some weathly individuals employed by Rothschild that will no longer be on island. So — they don’t consume any goods – groceries, gas, permits, office rent, import duties, stamp tax on property, school, nanny, tennis lessons, entertainment, etc.
All that adds up for a significant hit to the economy here.
Besides that — they should have been training Caymanian’s to replace the permit holders so there goes that as well.
The name Rothschild comes from a very wealthy and powerful Isreali-German family. Anyone who knows Rothschild, will remain silent and just watch…
All I know, is when you start seeing the big guys go, you know something is goin down!
But… silence is eloquence
The fee hikes are crippling our attempts to keepbusiness here and difficulties with Immigration are becoming impossible to explain to an increasingly unsympathetic parent business. When people want cost cutting we can only offer them increases. I reckon my organisation will be shipping 30 jobs away from Cayman in the next couple of months.
Perhaps you can see it from the Immigration’s side:
1) The more expats that leave the the island the better.
2) If a Caymanian loses a job because an expat leaves, he / she is entitled to another one.
3) As long as there are work permits this trend can continue.
Immigration personnel understand this well and they have a common purpose.
The Premier’s recent marketing drive will come to naught because:
1) Immigration doesn’t have to (and won’t) assist him in making things easier for new business.
2) He is making it more expensive to do business in the islands (when costs worldwide are declining). That is, shooting himself in the foot. Immigration must find this quite amusing.
3) The voices of those who have given these islands a good part of their lives and been shunned by unprofessional Immigration Boards are communicating to the world Cayman’s true message – You are welcome as long as you leave.
The more jobsthat go the more that recruitment of quality talent for Cayman will be hampered bythe interference of Immigration, and the death spiral will accelerate. Blame Ezzard and his cronies.
To Anonymous poster 12.02.2009, 08:46
When Kurt gave the statement he did, it was in answer to a specific question, with known facts at that time.
He maybe smart but he can not predict the future acurately. He can only go along with known facts and he should always remain optimistic.
If every business person on this island at that time thought that the world economy would nose dive like it did, instead of people like you having a well fed stomach, it may have been job termination notice and now a hungry gut with your malicious brain.
You should be telling us what would you would have stated since you hold the Crystal Ball.
Perhaps since you are still holding the ball in your more than capable hands, you would care to tell us how much of the Government’s proposed new revenue will be collected.
"He maybe smart" LOL! Is there another Kurt?
The only Kurt know was the ineffective politician who lead Cayman to the edge of financial ruin while he hampered attempts at an audit of the nation’s finance.
Kurt said the only fall out for their wasteful spending and the global economic crisis would be about a $200k in mutual fund registrations.
Kurt?
What "wasteful spending"? Since when is building schools, that should have been in place for 10/15 years, been wasteful? Would you prefer that Govt’s continue to do nothing for our education development? How do we take advantage of opportunities then?
Which schools? they finished building some schools with all that money?
Where are they?
Indeed
Please, please Cayman – realise that the threat of businesses and jobs, particularly in the financial sector being lost is very, very real. In the case of rothschild these are just being moved to other jurisdictions. Cayman is not the only player in this game any more but it will continue to lose out if the ant-foreigner, draconian laws (e.g. roll over) persist.
I hope there are enough Caymanians who remember how to make rope. It may be the number one industry again soon.
at last someone who understands why the expat owned companies will be and are leaving…. do something and stop feeling entitled Caymanians otherwise you will be making rope and being merchant seamen. Like to see how you will afford the pimped up rides then…
I really hate it when people accuse all Caymanians as having "pimped up rides", "blackberrys", "making trips to Miami every weekend", etc. I’m a Caymanian and I don’t have all those things.
well, atleast there will be lots of office space for the all of dream business Captain Bush is bringing in from all over the world….all heil King Bush…..oh wait, I forgot about those new taxes on rentals…thats appealing. CApatin Bush needs a compass while he is out cruising.
It pains me to say this, but all of you nationalists may soon get your way. If this trend of companies pulling out of Cayman continues, all of us ex-pats may have to start looking elsewhere for work.
I love the island but I have to think about supporting my family.
If this happens, the Nationalists will be happy to get rid of the ex-pats, but unfortunately it will be an empty victory since the Cayman economy would be shattered and there will be nothing left behind.
I am sure you are not really happy to go back to being taxed and having to contribute to society, are you?
9:01:
What a stupid comment! There actually are other places in the world that are pleasant (and welcoming) to live in other than Cayman. Yes, even with taxes.
I agree, what a silly comment at 9.01.
Yes, maybe I’ll be rolled over and go and live somewhere I pay tax. Perhaps the tax will pay for an efficeint civil service, a top quality education for the country’s children, a police service that can keep armed criminals at bay, a dept of environment that can deal with the country’s trash…etc etc.
But we doubt it; unless you’d like to name this hypothetical country and prove me wrong?
(Note, the above is not a defence of Cayman’s lacks but a rebutal of an inane comment.)
Jab Jab:
Canada-to name only one. Not Paradise but -Jesus- neither is Cayman.
And it’s "rebuttal" not "rebutal".
Sweden.
Germany.
France
This little lump of sand will have nothing but pain shortly and it will all be the fault of the Mafia of Mediocre and the civil servants.
And some expats and Caymanians who lied and cheated into their positions, treading on may other Caymanians, and causing Nationalist sentiment to grow.
What a terrible comment, I am a Caymanian and I have friends that are fellow Caymanians and lead nothing but a slacker lifestyle and not contributing the islands and I know several Ex Pats, some of whom have been here in Cayman over 40 years, some here less than 5 that do more for this country and contribute more to our well being than them ‘friends/family’ of mine. It never used to be a them vs us mentality, of course some ex pats come here and contribute nothing, but the good thing is we get rid of them eventually or they move on. Disparaging what ex pats have brought and the wealth that this country’s citizens have, that is directly attributed to the Finance Laws this country has set up in concert with Ex Pats back in the late 60s and early 70s is ignorant and for that we should ship you off island.
The untravelled illiterati always stands out when it comes to taxes, nationalistic comments, ignorance and common sense.
There are plenty of people who have paid tax in their home countries, lived a good life and managed to survive.
There are many places in the world which are far easier places to live and function which are taxed.
I would gladly pay tax here if it meant that I was fairly represented, afforded adequate civil rights and saw the benefit of my contributions.
As for contributions to society, many ‘tax evaders’ have contributed to our own countries and whatever countries we have lived in.
Expats and permit holders do not have the monopoly on moving where the work is. Maybe you should try it some time or if you sit long enough it may eventually drop at your feet in some entitled way. Somehow, I dont think that will happen.
It is a two way street so give it a go.
If there are no jobs here, then who cares if it is tax-free. You only pay taxes when you make money.
Who will the mediocre mafia pretend to work for if all the companies close and all the ex-pats go home?
thats is such an ignorant thing to say, You know that because I would prefer to pay tax and have an input in my future and not put up with the ignorant caymanians is why I have gone home and I hope that my firm (and all expat firms in Cayman) continue to lay off the Caymanians and expats and eventually close down so that you guys are left to your own island. I hope the caymanians who own property are really happy with those big empty lots and condo complexes, and that that entitlement feeling makes you cool when you can’;t pay the air con bill….
What are:
1) Duties?
2) Stamp Duties?
3) Work Permit Fees?
4) Car Registration?
5) Government Company Fees?
6) Garbage Fees?
Let’s just assume they are taxes. When one pays these taxes, what benefits (other than garbage collection) does one get?