Get set for a nightmare on Wall Street

The world's biggest financial firms may lose as many as 175,000 jobs by this time next year as Citigroup Inc and other banks shed workers amid slowing revenue and billions in writedowns, executive recruiters say.

Financial companies have announced plans to trim more than 83,000 jobs since last July, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg. As more employees are fired, workforce reductions may exceed those from the market slump of 2000 to 2003 when technology-related shares collapsed, recruiters said.