Goldman Sachs is planning to cut up to 8% of its workforce, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the bank tries to weather an uncertain economic environment.
The layoffs are the latest sign that cuts are accelerating across Wall Street as dealmaking dries up. Investment banking revenues have plunged this year amid a slowdown in mergers and share offerings, marking a stark reversal from a blockbuster 2021 when bankers received big pay bumps.
No final decision has been made and discussions to determine the right size of the firm are ongoing. However, the cuts are likely to occur in January, a source said.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the matter.
As of Sept. 30, there were 49,100 people working for the investment banking firm, according to a recent earnings report. The potential cuts could impact as many as 4,000 workers.
Semafor earlier on Friday reported the planned cuts.
During a conference last week, CEO David Solomon indicated that the company is looking to cut back on expenses as the company faces headwinds on its expense lines during the uncertain economic environment.
“We continue to see headwinds on our expense lines, particularly in the near term,” Solomon said at the conference. “We’ve set in motion certain expense mitigation plans, but it will take some time to realize the benefits.”
Solomon added that the firm “will remain nimble and we will size the firm to reflect the opportunity set.”
The firm already laid off 500 employees in September as the economy continued to hammer the financial sector.
The latest news on the additional layoffs comes just after The Financial Times published a report on Wednesday, that Solomon is considering slashing the bonus pool by at least 40%.
This would mean potential bonus cuts for approximately 3,000 investment bankers, according to the report, which cited a senior source inside the investment firm.
If implemented, the bonus cuts would be the largest since the 2008 financial crisis.
