The CEO of American financial giant Goldman Sachs has told the company’s staff that a first round of layoffs will happen in January.
The bank is reportedly considering cutting about 8% of its 49,000 employees, which could equate to as many as 4,000 job losses. It is also thought to be considering cuts to its bonus pool of up to 40%.
According to Bloomberg, the memo sent to staff indicated that the layoffs were due to worsening economic conditions.
CEO David Solomon said: “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.”
“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.”
Goldman is still forecast to report big profits for this year and next. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Market Intelligence predict it will make $12bn in net profits for 2022 and $13bn in 2023.
Sources also told Bloomberg that company managers would be asked to identify potential cost-reduction targets, noting that a final job-cut number hasn’t been determined yet.
