JERSEY CITY, N.J., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Knight Trading Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NITE) today announced that the Company expects to reduce its European workforce within a target range of 10 percent to 20 percent. The reduction is part of overall corporate cost-cutting measures and will be implemented according to the specific requirements of United Kingdom employment law.

"Knight is managing all of its businesses in line with the difficult market environment faced by all financial services companies in the U.S. and abroad," said Anthony M. Sanfilippo, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Equities at Knight Trading Group. "These proposed European staff reductions are part of a company-wide effort to control costs and expenses. Going forward in Europe, we seek to appropriately balance business opportunities with challenging business conditions, as well as to marry efforts to increase our competitive advantage with our objectives to reach and maintain profitability. Knight will continue its efforts to meet growing demand in Europe for improved price execution, better access to multiple markets and reduced transactions costs."

Knight is proceeding with its European workforce reduction plans according to U.K. employment law requirements. The specifics of these reductions will be determined only after thorough and proper review and with the involvement of employee representatives. This review process can take at least 30 days. For the convenience of analysts, investors and the media, a question and answer summary addressing European workforce reductions is posted on Knight's corporate Web site, http://www.knighttradinggroup.com.

"Knight remains committed to the continued development of our global footprint, with the goal of being a premier destination for order flow," said Kenneth D. Pasternak, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Knight Trading Group. "Our international operations are important to our development as a single point of entry to allow our clients to trade all types of equity securities and derivatives, at any time, from anywhere in the world. We firmly believe that the next stage in the evolution of pan-European trading will be driven by those who can offer liquidity with immediacy, reduced transaction costs, and the ability to trade across borders using a single trading platform."

Knight is the liquidity center that offers superior execution services to its broker-dealer and institutional clients in over-the-counter (OTC) and listed equity securities, and in equity options. In so doing, Knight helps its clients meet their fiduciary obligation of obtaining best execution for the securities orders that they place on behalf of their customers. Knight also maintains an asset management business for institutional investors and high net worth individuals through Deephaven Capital Management.

Knight has the power to commit capital for market orders and also maintains one of the largest limit order books in the OTC market. The Company has approximately 1,400 employees worldwide and is one of the largest destinations for stock orders placed via the Internet. Knight traded 112 billion shares in the year 2000, a volume behind only those posted by Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). For the second consecutive year, based on 1999 and 2000 fiscal year results, Knight was ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the 500 most profitable public companies in the U.S. Ultimately, Knight plans to enable our clients to trade all types of equity securities and options at any time, from anywhere in the world. More information about Knight can be obtained at http://www.knighttradinggroup.com.

The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results, performance or other expectations and from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods. These factors include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to implement its growth strategies, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, intellectual property rights, and other factors detailed in the Company's registration statement and periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE Knight Trading Group, Inc.

CONTACT: Margaret Wyrwas, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, +1-201-557-6954, mwyrwas@knight-sec.com, or Kara Fitzsimmons, Manager, Corporate Communications, +1-201-356-1523, kara_fitzsimmons@knight-sec.com, Judy Pirro, Manager, Investor and Shareholder Relations, +1-201-356-1548, judy_pirro@knight-sec.com, all of Knight Trading Group, Inc./