Goldman Sachs May Slash 3,200 Jobs (10%) as Turmoil Worsens (Update1)

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the only firm among Wall Street's five biggest to remain profitable through the credit crisis, will shed about 3,200 workers, or 10 percent of its staff, as the revenue outlook worsens, according to a person briefed on the plans who declined to be identified.

The cuts add to more than 130,000 jobs eliminated in the financial industry since mid-2007, eclipsing the cuts after the Internet bubble burst in 2001.

Paul Kafka, a Goldman spokesman in London, wouldn't comment. Goldman had 32,569 employees at the end of August, up 3 percent from May and 9 percent for the year 2008.
asr: basically they are cutting what they hired in 2008 (9%)

``When a lean and mean firm starts trimming, they're cutting into muscle,'' said Shaun Springer, chief executive officer of Napier Scott Executive Search Ltd. in London. ``The fact that they (Goldman) are cutting 10 percent is quite indicative of the fact that there are still a lot of problems ahead.''


Citigroup has cut 24,000 jobs in the past 18 months, more than any other bank in the world, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy last month, eliminated almost 14,000 jobs, the data show.

Further Reductions
Other financial firms are planning further reductions. Merrill Lynch may cut more than 10,000 jobs after Bank of America Corp.

Banks may cut 62,000 jobs in London by the end of next year, reducing employment in the industry to the lowest level in more than a decade as the credit crisis worsens, the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimated this month.

In New York, state budget planners expect a loss of 40,000 financial jobs this year 2008.