BlackRock Cuts 500 Jobs as Q4 Earnings Plunge 84%

BlackRock, the largest publicly-traded US asset manager, said Q4 earnings fell 84% as the firm cut 500 jobs and marked down the value of hedge-fund investments.

Net income declined to $53 million, or 40 cents a share, from $322.4 million, or $2.43, a year earlier, the New York- based company said.

In November, the company said it would cut 9% of its jobs, the first layoffs in its 20-year history, which led to $38 million in expenses.

“Without question, 2008 has been the most difficult market environment in memory,” CEO Laurence Fink said today.

BlackRock, co-founded in 1988 by Fink as a fixed-income manager, expanded its equity business with the 2006 acquisition of Merrill Lynch’s asset-management unit for $8.5 billion. The company was selected by the Federal Reserve in March to oversee $30 billion of Bear Stearns’ investments, when the fifth-largest US securities firm agreed to be acquired by JPMorgan Chase.

The company has eliminated 500 jobs, mainly by eliminating part-time positions. BlackRock has about 5,600 employees worldwide.