NEW YORK — Could American Express become one of the victims of the current economic downturn? That is the question that has some card analysts buzzing after the card issuer announced today that it will cut 10% of its workforce, or about 7,000 jobs.

The cuts will occur across the board in the company and will be accompanied by cuts in other expenditures, including management-level salary increases.

Analysts noted that under its historic business model, focused sharply on well-heeled consumers with very strong credit scores who pay their entire balances every month, the card issuer would be better positioned to weather the most recent downturn. But in an effort to speed growth, American Express had lowered some of its card issuing standards and started allowing cardholders to revolve balances. This change has left the card brand more vulnerable to the changing economic conditions, analysts said.

“We've been engaged for the past few months in an intensive, companywide review of priorities and staffing levels,” said Kenneth I. Chenault, American Express chairman and CEO in a statement announcing the cuts. “The re-engineering program we announced today will help us to manage through one of the most challenging economic environments we've seen in many decades. It will also put us in position to ramp up investment spending as economic conditions improve so that we can take advantage of the substantial opportunities that will be available to us over the medium to long term.”