Morningstar to cut up to 12% of staff at ESG unit Sustainalytics, ETHRWorld

Morningstar will reduce 10% to 12% of the global headcount of its Sustainalytics unit that provides research and ratings on environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics, a representative said on Wednesday.

Morningstar did not say how many people would be affected, but Sustainalytics lists having “1800+” team members on its website, meaning up to 216 jobs could be cut.

Chicago-based Morningstar had said in June that it would more closely align Sustainalytics with its Morningstar Indexes businesses.

“As a part of this alignment, we are in the process of making adjustments to strengthen the financial footing of the business. We remain committed to growing our ESG capabilities and will continue to invest in this area going forward,” said the Morningstar representative, Sarah Wirth, via e-mail.

Morningstar bought Sustainalytics in 2020.