Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is said to be planning a new round of job cuts, possibly as early as this week. This is just the latest round in a series of job setbacks that has plagued Wall Street in recent months.
Both Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) were said to be considering big layoffs in December. However, Morgan Stanley announced in January that it wouldn’t be cutting anymore jobs soon. That news came around the same time Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s CEO said his company could also be planning more job cuts.
Today Reuters’ Lauren Tara LaCapra and Katya Wachtel report that an anonymous source said Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) will make some cuts starting this week, although the exact number of jobs that will be eliminated is unknown. This is traditionally the time of year when Goldman Sachs dumps the weakest 5 percent of its staff, covering all departments. But this year the bank will focus mostly on its equities business as it tries to recover from continued weak earnings.
Among the departments being targeted in this round of layoffs is the bank’s equities business. The division is expected to see more than 5 percent of its staff eliminated. The bank’s fixed-income trading division will likely sustain fewer cuts. The division took major cuts last year and this year has reported higher volumes.
Within the past two years, the bank has laid off about 9 percent of its work force, or about 3,300 employees.
Shares of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) are down 2 percent in Monday afternoon trading.
