By (Reuters) -Goldman Sachs plans to cut more than 1,300 employees from its global workforce as part of an annual review process to cull low performers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The bank will likely cut between 3% and 4% of its workforce across various divisions, the report said, adding that the layoffs have already started and will continue through the fall.
Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The bank’s global workforce stood at 44,300, as of quarter ended June 30. Job cuts between 3% to 4% will likely impact an estimated 1,329 to 1,772 employees.
Goldman reinstated performance-related job culls in 2022 after it was halted for two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the exercise reportedly resulted in between 1% and 5% of employees losing their jobs.
The range of job cuts done under Goldman’s ‘strategic resource assessment, has fluctuated over the years based on market conditions and its financial outlook, the WSJ report said.
The bank took on multiple rounds of workforce reductions in 2023 as dealmaking suffered due to an years-long drought and higher-for-longer interest rates weighed on the macroeconomic outlook.
The operating environment for banks has since improved with Goldman reporting second-quarter profit that more than doubled and beat market expectations in July on strong debt underwriting and fixed-income trading.
The resilience of the U.S. economy has given corporate executives the confidence to pursue acquisitions, debt sales and stock offerings. Still, despite an industry-wide recovery, dealmaking activity has remained below historical averages.
Goldman shares turned positive in afternoon trading and were last up 0.3%. The stock has surged nearly 32% this year and has outperformed broader markets.