Goldman Sachs is reportedly planning to cut thousands of jobs starting this week, as the bank prepares for an adverse economic environment this year.
The investment bank is expected to reduce more than 3,000 employees, but the final number of job cuts has not been determined yet, reported Reuters.
According to Bloomberg, Goldman is expected to axe nearly 3,200 of its workforce.
The number of employees to be affected by the job cuts is less than what is expected (4,000 employees), as reported by the news agencies last month.
Goldman Sachs chief executive officer David Solomon confirmed the news speculation about job cuts through his year-end message to staff.
David Solomon then said: “We are conducting a careful review and while discussions are still ongoing, we anticipate our headcount reduction will take place in the first half of January.
“There are a variety of factors impacting the business landscape, including tightening monetary conditions that are slowing down economic activity. For our leadership team, the focus is on preparing the firm to weather these headwinds.”
Goldman Sachs had 49,100 employees at the end of the third quarter of 2022, of which the majority were recruited during the Covid-19 pandemic, reported Reuters.
The company planned the job cuts such that its workforce remains above the pre-pandemic level, of around 38,300 people at the end of 2019, according to its regulatory filing.
According to Reuters, institutional banks are facing a major slowdown in corporate dealmaking activity, driven by volatile financial markets worldwide.
The job cuts are expected to primarily affect major divisions of the bank, including its investment banking division.
In October this year, Goldman Sachs scaled back its loss-making consumer unit Marcus and was made a part of its wealth business, after a management reorganisation.
The company’s consumer business is likely to see hundreds of job cuts.
Furthermore, the job cuts come ahead of the bank’s annual bonus payments which are usually delivered later in January and are expected to be decreased by about 40%.
