Goldman Sachs is reportedly making plans to let go of 3,200 employees in January. It is one of the largest layoffs the company has undergone since the 2008 financial downturn.
The Wall Street firm may not be done just yet. Financial insiders believe that the company could continue to let go of people in the second quarter if the firm does not rise about current setbacks within the economy.
“If things haven’t gotten better in the first quarter, we’ll have more changes,” compensation consultant Alan Johnson told CNBC.
“You can’t have these expensive people sitting around with nothing to do.”
While this set of layoffs is larger than most in recent history, Goldman Sachs is no stranger to letting go of talent. Like other Wall Street firms, Goldman Sachs has traditionally cut low-performing teams as needed each year. However, the firm halted this practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You know, people just don’t work out,” Chris Kotowski of Oppenheimer & Co. told NPR.
“Sometimes you expanded into an area that just wasn’t fruitful, and sometimes you’ve just overhired.”
Despite Kostowski’s assessment, the firm will continue to higher lower-level employees such as junior bankers to keep the firm moving forward.
