Asia – Asia is already feeling the effects of the subprime market crisis, with many of the bank industry employees losing their jobs or worrying about their job security, according to various news sources.

Last Thursday, The Straits Times reported that some local staff from Citigroup have already been retrenched. Others tell ST that it is likely their bonuses will be affected this year and will be even lucky to hold a job. Citigroup’s total writeoff is now listed at a total US$25 billion dollars, after declaring its Q1 loss of US$10 billion dollars last week.

In India, Hindustan Times also reported that the off-shore centers where research and data processing is done for Wall Street firms are also facing uncertainty

Lehmann Brothers, with a writedown loss of US$3.5 billion, has shut down its mortgage capital division in India. However, it says that the 100-strong division will not be retrenched, but transferred into other departments instead.

“We don’t expect any net impact on our employment in India. Some job displacements will be there and they will be moved to different departments,” a Lehman Brothers spokesperson said