It is perhaps fitting that the City of Lon-A don, which became so excited by the apparently limitless possibilities of technology only a few years ago, is employing the same technology to fire those who helped boost the mania. As City firms cut staff left and right, giving the unfortunates a bin bag is only one of a myriad of ways of getting rid of unwanted staff. One poor soul, a managing director no less, who had worked for a big American bank for 16 years, was informed that his services were surplus to requirements by e-mail; another was apparently sacked by text message. It is not just investment banks that are cutting: fund managers, consultancy firms, technology companies, lawyers: all have been wielding their axes with a will. This is unfortunate not only for those given their marching orders. The health of the City matters far more to London than Wall Street does to New York. About twice as many people are employed in the financial services industry in London as in New York. And given that financial services are Britain's biggest export earner by a long chalk, it is worrying for the economy as a whole.
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