The US bank Goldman Sachs is preparing a layoff plan that could affect up to 4,000 jobs, the Semafor site reported on Friday, due to the deterioration of the US economy but also to the disappointing results of retail banking. Asked by AFP, Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
A person familiar with the matter confirmed that the departures would be “probably a little higher” than is typical for the establishment, which separates “1 to 5%” of its workforce each year. Still according to this source, the decision was made “in light of the current economic situation”, which is deteriorating. He also noted that the bank had recruited massively since 2019, leading to a 28% increase in its workforce.
At the end of September, Goldman Sachs had 49,100 employees. The elimination of 4,000 positions would thus be equivalent to just over 8% of the total.
“We’re going to have to downsize a bit.”
The scale of the layoffs is larger than that of other Wall Street investment banks, which have also been cutting staff in recent weeks. Morgan Stanley is currently laying off about 2% of its employees, or about 1,600 people, according to various US media.
“We’re going to have to downsize a bit,” Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon said at a conference call in early December. Wall Street Journal. According to Semafor, in addition to the changing economic situation, Goldman Sachs takes note of the disappointing evolution of its retail banking activity.
Corporate and investment bank since its creation, the establishment has spent several years trying to diversify and develop activities aimed at individuals. For this, the establishment had created the Marcus brand, a retail bank that offers consumer credit and savings products since 2016. But this new entity, which required a significant investment, is struggling to achieve profitability, according to Semafor. Goldman Sachs also helped launch Apple Card, a consumer credit card, in 2019, a first for the store.
Source: BFM TV
