Goldman Sachs is planning to cut as many as 4,000 “low performing” staffers as it looks to shed costs during a profitability crunch, according to a report Friday.
Top brass has reportedly asked managers to identify struggling employees for potential cuts, Semafor reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The layoffs are slated to begin early next year and could impact up to 8% of Goldman’s workforce, which currently consists of more than 49,000 employees.
The bank has yet to make any final decisions on the scope of the expected job cuts, a person familiar with the bank’s thinking told The Post. After the layoffs, the bank’s headcount will still be higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
As The Post reported on Dec. 6, Goldman’s annual performance review process is rattling employees this year as workers brace for potential cuts.
“People are very nervous … all just waiting in anticipation,” one Goldman insider told The Post at the time.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
The layoffs are part of an array of cost-cutting measures reportedly under consideration at the bank. The Financial Times reported that Goldman may slash bonuses for its investment bankers by 40% this year — the steepest cut since the Great Recession.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Goldman was plotting at least 400 cuts across its struggling retail banking division.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon recently cited difficult global economic conditions heading into 2023 and signaled the bank would look to cut down on its costs — with a reduction in staffing among the planned initiatives.
“We continue to see headwinds on our expense lines, particularly in the near term,” Solomon said while speaking at a conference last week, according to Bloomberg. “We’ve set in motion certain expense mitigation plans, but it will take some time to realize the benefits. Ultimately, we will remain nimble and we will size the firm to reflect the opportunity set.”
In October, Solomon told CNBC that it was “a time to be cautious” and warned of a “good chance” the US economy would slip into a recession.
Goldman had gone on a hiring spree over the last few years during a Solomon-led drive into consumer banking. A trio of acquisitions, including the purchase of specialty lender GreenSky last year, has also boosted the bank’s employee count.
Goldman is the latest of several firms to plan layoffs as Wall Street prepares for a worsening economic outlook. Citigroup recently announced dozens of jobs cuts across its business, while Barclays laid off about 200 employees and Morgan Stanley slashed about 1,600 jobs.
The bank’s profitability has plunged this year, dragged down in part by Marcus, its money-losing digital consumer bank. In October, Goldman announced a major internal shakeup in which its investment banking and trading operations were combined into one unit and Marcus was folded into its asset and wealth management division, NY Post reports.
