The newswire and information services provider Thomson Reuters will cut 3,000 jobs, or about 5 per cent of its worldwide workforce, the company announced on Tuesday as it released its third-quarter earnings report.

The cuts will be targeted mainly at the company’s financial and risk division, which is Thomson Reuters’ biggest unit. It is the second round of firings this year. In February the company announced layoffs that trimmed 4 per cent of its workforce.

Third-quarter revenues from ongoing businesses grew 2 per cent to $3.1 billion from the same period in 2012. Net income attributable to common shareholders fell 39 per cent to $271 million, or 33 cents a share, from $441 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier, the company said.

Third-quarter adjusted earnings per share were 48 cents, unchanged from the prior-year period, the company said.

Thomson Reuters’ income from banks and other financial companies has been negatively affected by the financial crisis and the euro crisis on those institutions.

“Though we continue to expect challenging conditions in the coming quarters — particularly with the largest global banks — (the layoffs) are significant steps in returning our financial business to a growth footing,” chief executive Jim Smith said. “We will pick up the pace of efforts to simplify and streamline our organisation, to shift resources behind the most promising growth opportunities.”

Thomson Reuters was formed in 2008 with the merger of the Canadian media conglomerate Thomson with the traditional British news agency Reuters. Its chief competitor is Bloomberg.

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