Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs plans to cut HUNDREDS of low-performing workers as it reins in expenses and analysts expect the bank to post a more than 40 percent drop in earnings this year
- Goldman Sachs Group will make cuts as early as this month
- It comes after pausing the annual practice for two years during the pandemic
- A one percent cut to staffing would imply a reduction of about 500 bankers
- Goldman shares are down more than 10% this year and 15% from a year ago
- Earlier this month, the firm removed the ‘grab and go’ coffee bar that had been stationed at the Goldman Sachs 200 West Street office lobby
- In August, Goldman notified staff that all pandemic protocols would be gone after Labor Day, and employees would be expected in the office five days a week
- Goldman CEO David has long made his stance against work from home known, cautioning as early as winter 2021 that work from home was an ‘aberration’
Goldman Sachs is planning to cut several hundred jobs as early as this month after pausing the annual practice for two years as the firm reins in expenses and weeds out low-performing employees.
The firm said back in July that it planned to slow hiring and reinstate annual performance reviews, Bloomberg reported.
It comes amid a slump in revenue as analysts expect the bank to post a more than 40 percent drop in earnings this year.
The staff reductions may begin as early as next week, two sources familiar with the firm’s plans told the New York Times.
Goldman Sachs typically trims about 1 percent to 5 percent of its staff each year, but the practice was paused during the two years of the pandemic. The cuts will likely be in the lower end of that range, the source told The Times.
The firm had 47,000 employees at the end of the second quarter and a one percent cut to staffing would be a reduction of about 500 bankers.
Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs Group is planning to cut jobs as early as this month after pausing the annual practice for two years during the pandemic, according to a source
Workers cross the street at Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York on June 15, 2022. The firm said back in July that it planned to slow hiring and reinstate annual performance reviews
The news of layoffs comes after the company dissolved its free ‘grab and go’ coffee bar as leadership scrubs away the last of their COVID-era benefits in a push to bring employees back to the office five days a week.
The coffee station had previously been stationed at the bank’s 200 West Street office lobby, offering bankers a selection of complimentary craft coffees as an incentive to brave the commute throughout the pandemic.
But it disappeared after Labor Day, marking the latest pandemic perk to be taken away according to an insider at the bank, who told The New York Post that the alternative to coming into the office – being fired – ought to be incentive enough to hop on the subway and head downtown.
‘RIP to another pandemic perk for junior bankers,’ the source, a jaded junior banker at Goldman, told The Post, ‘I’m sure the partners still don’t have to pay for their coffee – or anything in their fancy dining hall.’
Goldman CEO David Solomon has long made his stance against work from home known, cautioning as early as winter 2021 that work from home was ‘not a new normal,’ and calling it an ‘aberration.’
The ‘grab and go’ coffee bar had previously been stationed at the Goldman Sachs 200 West Street office lobby was removed after Labor Day
Goldman CEO David Solomon has long made his stance against work from home known, cautioning as early as 2021 that work from home was ‘not a new normal,’ and calling it an ‘aberration’
In August, Goldman notified its staff that all pandemic protocols would be gone after Labor Day, and employees would be expected to be in the office five days a week.
The announcement was the culmination of several months of the stripping away of accommodations offered to employees to incentivize them to come into the office when they weren’t required to be there.
In April, the bank ceased offering employees free rides to and from the office, and also did away with free breakfasts and lunches.
‘Of course they took the coffee away,’ a second source told The Post, ‘But I’ve been so slammed since Labor Day I haven’t really had time to think too much about it.’
The source noted there was still free drip-coffee in an 11th floor lobby, but that it was lesser quality than the old coffee station and difficult to get to.
They also noted Goldman gave bankers complimentary cupcakes on their first day back after Labor Day.
In April, Goldman Sachs ceased offering employees free rides to and from the office, and also did away with free breakfasts and lunches
Goldman is not the only bank wrestling with what to do with their employees and offices.
At JP Morgan, CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly told senior staff that he expected junior workers to be at their desks five days a week, despite official policy that only expects them there three days a week.
But over at Citigroup, CEO Jane Fraser has maintained a ban on Zoom calls on Fridays, and still only asks employees to come into the office a few days a week without requiring them to be there for a full five days.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has said the bank would be announcing office plans in the coming weeks.
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