IMC: You’re fired, buddy

Trouble at IMC. Everyone needs a hobby. Some collect stamps, others paint miniature battlefields and the most nerdy of all write weblogs. At Dutch market maker firm IMC they have been collecting side activities. A free newspaper, a website for investors, asset management and some risk consultancy. And the remains of a bank. The era of conglomerates is still alive and kicking, core business is for sissies.

Confronted with a tougher financial climate a new reorganization is in effect at International Market maker Combination. More than a dozen of traders have been fired in march in the Amsterdam office. The IT department didn’t escape the job cuts either. Bad luck. However, no such thing in IMC’s other offices. Hong Kong and Chicago are outpacing their mother. New office space has been signed in the US. An unbelievable 52000 square feet on the entire 43th floor of Chicago’s Sears tower will be leased untill 2020. For comparison, that’s the size of a regular soccer pitch.