Many bankers and traders have had to give up luxurious company perks like fancy cars, comfortable seats, and expensive meals due to significant financial losses. Trading desk managers and senior bankers are cutting back on these small comforts in order to save money and improve profits. Ron Karp, a controller at Corporate Transportation Group, has noticed a decrease in demand for their services as companies are reducing expenses, including lavish transportation for employees. He stated that there has been a noticeable decrease in business at car services throughout the city in the last month. Unlike the widespread cutbacks that occurred in the early 2000s after the tech bubble burst, these cutbacks are happening within specific departments. However, employees in these departments are still feeling the effects. Credit Suisse has decreased cell phone subsidies and eliminated car vouchers. Merrill Lynch has restricted business class travel for certain divisions, Goldman Sachs has stopped providing free soda, and JP Morgan has raised the criteria for free meals and car rides. Reducing small benefits helps reduce costs, but more importantly, it sends a message to employees to be mindful of expenses in their control. According to equity analyst Brad Hintz, cutting perks in banks is a way to remind employees to be frugal in tough times. The financial industry has faced significant losses and layoffs, with over $300 billion in write-downs and layoffs of over 23,000 announced in April alone. Professor Roy Smith notes that the common response is to increase layoffs and reduce operational expenses. Banks adhered to this procedure in 1987, 1990-91, 1994, 1998, and 2000-2002, according to him. The question remains whether the reductions will cease as the prospects for Wall Street firms improve, with the AMEX Security Broker Dealer Index .XBD climbing over 30 percent to 181 since hitting its low on March 17. When faced with tough decisions, managers are opting to trim luxuries rather than staff in order to be prepared for any market recovery. As a result, at Credit Suisse, certain departments have implemented a strict $30 cap on meals ordered by traders working late, as reported by a source familiar with the situation. Employees are no longer able to select dinner from any restaurant in town. Instead of allowing employees to handle catering individually, all food orders are now processed through the online service SeamlessWeb in order for managers to have better oversight. Some perks, such as free personal cell phone bills and car vouchers, have been reduced or eliminated. At Merrill Lynch, certain divisions have downgraded employee travel accommodations by removing first class and business class options for domestic flights. Representatives from Credit Suisse and Merrill clarified that these changes were not company-wide but were enacted by specific teams or divisions. Even companies that have not been significantly affected by the credit crunch are reducing their expenses. For example, at JPMorgan, employees may need to work late to qualify for a ride home or stay at work for a set amount of time after ordering food on the company's account. Similarly, Goldman Sachs has stopped providing free soda on some of its trading floors. However, Jeff Visithpanich, a principal at compensation consultant Johnson Associates, warned that excessive cost-cutting could have negative consequences for companies in the long run. Perhaps the idea seems promising in theory, but in reality, the result is that many individuals are extending their breaks by heading downstairs to Starbucks.