Morgan Stanley cuts around 150 London jobs: source

LONDON (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is cutting about 150 jobs in London, the vast majority coming from the back office, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.

The cuts are part of the more than 1,000 lay-offs across the U.S.-based investment bank that a person briefed on the moves told Reuters about last week.

"The firm is engaged in an ongoing process of assessing its personnel needs in light of overall market conditions, business priorities and individual performance. This process will involve head-count reductions in some areas and additions in other areas," the bank said in a statement.

Morgan Stanley, which posted $9.4 billion of fourth-quarter losses from mortgage trading and other assets, joins other global banks that have axed hundreds of jobs in the City of London financial district as a result of market turmoil.

Britain's Centre for Economics and Business Research forecasts a loss of about 8,000 City jobs by the end of the year, while data provider Experian puts the number at between 10,000 and 20,000.

(Reporting by Olesya Dmitracova; Editing by Paul Bolding)