Goldman Sachs CEO says staff cuts coming in January

NEW YORK – Goldman Sachs is working on a fresh round of job cuts that will be unveiled in a matter of weeks, chief executive David Solomon said in his traditional year-end message to staff.

“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,” he added.

“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.”

The firm may seek to eliminate as much as 8 per cent of its workforce, or up to 4,000 jobs, to contain a slump in profit and revenue, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month, although the final number could come in lower.

Top managers have been asked to identify potential cost-reduction targets, and no final job-cut number has been determined, the people said.

Mr Solomon also said in his message: “We need to proceed with caution and manage our resources wisely.”

Goldman is on track to post about US$48 billion (S$64.8 billion) in annual revenue, its second-best performance behind only last year’s record.

An expensive foray into consumer banking and the subsequent retreat, along with spending on technology and integrating operations, have contributed to the cost bleed this year.

The proposed cuts would mark a sharper pullback than plans disclosed by any of Goldman’s rivals as its management struggles to achieve profitability targets.

Analysts predict that the Wall Street giant’s adjusted annual profit could fall 44 per cent.

Goldman executives have pointed out that the bank’s workforce has ballooned by 34 per cent since the end of 2018 to more than 49,000 as at the third quarter of 2022. BLOOMBERG