New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to spend $45 million in government money retraining investment bankers, brokers and others who have lost jobs on Wall Street, says the New York Times.

Under a program Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled on Wednesday, the city wants to invest $45 million in government money to retrain investment bankers, traders and others who have lost jobs on Wall Street, as well as provide seed capital and office space for new businesses those laid-off bankers might create.

The plan is intended to stem the exodus of talent from the rapidly collapsing financial services industry, which has been the city’s economic engine for decades, and speed the industry’s recovery, which may take years, officials said.

City officials also plan to try to lure big banks and financial companies from Asia and other parts of the world to set up operations in New York, filling some of the void created by the implosion of large American firms like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. They hope to receive permission from the federal and state governments to use $30 million of federal money to attract those companies and other financial firms to Lower Manhattan.

They’d better hurry up. Packs of laid off Wall Street guys are already invading 30 Rock.

New York to Spend $45 Million to Retrain Laid-Off Wall Streeters [NYT]
(Photo:Maulliegh)

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