AP
November 06, 2008
Goldman Sachs Group Inc has begun notifying about 3,200 employees globally that they have lost their jobs, as the world’s biggest investment bank slashes expenses to ride out the financial crisis, a person familiar with the situation said.
The job cuts, which were first reported last month, are a reflection of the ongoing downturn in the credit and lending markets that triggered massive losses for banks around the world. Goldman Sachs had been considered the strongest investment bank on Wall Street, and earlier this year had expected its payrolls to expand.
Positions will be cut across Goldman’s offices globally and among various business lines, and will bring the company’s staffing to 2006 and 2007 levels, the person said yesterday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the company hasn’t publicly disclosed details of the plan.
According to CapitalIQ, Goldman has more than 37,000 employees across its operations.
There also have been reports that Goldman’s army of bankers might see their bonuses cut in half this year.
Difficulties at the firm demonstrate that even the industry’s most powerful player is not immune to fallout from the unprecedented financial turmoil.
On Monday, Merrill Lynch analyst Guy Moszkowski predicted that Goldman would report a loss for the fourth quarter, its first since going public in 1999. The stock market’s
plunge has created a brutal atmosphere for some of Goldman’s once high-flying businesses, such as private equity and proprietary trading.
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