Morgan Stanley plans to eliminate up to 1,800 positions, or 4% of the workforce, after posting its lowest annual profit in 13 years.

Most of the reductions will come later this month in administration, technology and other back-office areas. All of the positions will be in institutional securities and asset management, leaving global wealth management untouched.

Morgan Stanley, led by CEO John Mack, is aiming to cut annual costs by $2 billion through a combination of job reductions and other savings. Revenue at New York-based Morgan Stanley, which converted to a bank holding company last year and took $10 billion from the US Treasury, dropped 12% in 2008.

The company employed 46,964 people at the end of November.