Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Moving N.Y. Jobs

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. are moving jobs out of New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center.

Goldman will move the trading and research portion of its equities business to Jersey City, N.J., in 2004, said a company memo made public Monday.

Morgan Stanley, which lost six employees in the attack and was the trade center’s biggest tenant, agreed Monday to buy the former headquarters of Texaco Inc., now part of ChevronTexaco Corp., in Westchester County north of the city for an undisclosed amount.

“We would prefer, of course, keeping these jobs in New York City, but it is difficult to take issue with these decisions if we cannot offer a viable alternative,” said Kathryn Wylde, president of the New York City Partnership, a business advocacy organization.

Wall Street is shifting jobs out of lower Manhattan in part to avoid future business disruptions. Firms that have moved jobs to Jersey City or other areas surrounding Manhattan include Charles Schwab Corp., Merrill Lynch & Co., Lehman Bros. and Bank of America.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman plan to keep their respective headquarters in New York, where Goldman employs 10,000 and Morgan Stanley employs 14,000.

Goldman’s decision on its trading and research arms means the firm will vacate 15 floors at One New York Plaza, owned by TrizecHahn Corp. of Toronto, for a new development in Jersey City, across the Hudson River.

Morgan Stanley, the second-largest securities firm by capital, will move some operations into a four-story, 725,000-square-foot office building that sits on 107 acres in Harrison, N.Y. The firm did not disclose the number of workers that will move to the Harrison facility.

Ultimately, securities firms will more than replace the jobs that are leaving the city if business recovers, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who added that he has spoken to Goldman Chairman Henry Paulson about the loss of jobs.