New York - US investment giant Morgan Stanley is considering cutting another 5 per cent of its workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The decision could come in the next two weeks, the report said. The financial firm that employees 47,000 people already eliminated 7,000 positions last year amid the crisis in the financial markets that saw Morgan Stanley lose 2.4 billion dollars in the fourth quarter.

Rival Goldman Sachs, which cut about 10 per cent of its workforce in 2008, is also mulling further cuts, insiders told the newspaper. Goldman Sachs lost 2.1 billion dollars in the period.

Of the US investment banks, the companies are the last to remain independent in the face of the financial crisis, but were forced to transform into commercial banks and submit to more stringent regulations. dpa