China's leading securities brokerages downsize on bleak market (2)

At about the same time, the stock market experienced major turbulence, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipping to 1,963.49 on Nov. 29, its lowest point since early 2009.

The year's continuous declines have dented investor confidence, as capital raised on China's yuan-denominated stock market through initial public offerings (IPOs) and refinancing -- the main businesses of brokerage firms -- dropped substantially in the first ten months of the year.

Slammed by the bearish market, other domestic brokerages adopted similar approaches to weather the storm. GF Securities and China International Capital Co. (CICC) started their job cuts as early as September 2011.

In addition to downsizing, GF Securities lowered workers' monthly salaries by an overall margin of 15 percent last year, and CICC ended contracts with overseas experts they had once paid nearly 1 million U.S. dollars annually.

However, the largest staff cuts were made by China Galaxy Securities, which nearly halved its marketing and sales personnel.

"The huge profitability in securities underwriting has ended," a seasoned financial sponsor told Caijing. "Sentiment among brokerage firms remains weak, as they expect to see less business in the future. It's the root cause of this round of layoffs."

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