Goldman Said to Extend Fixed-Income Job Cuts to 10% of Staff
Updated on May 5, 2016 — 6:32 PM EDT
Latest move builds on reductions that had affected 8% by April
Firm is also said to dismiss staff in equities division
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is cutting more jobs in its securities units, extending reductions in fixed-income operations this year to roughly 10 percent of workers there, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The dismissals in New York and London this week build on cuts that already had targeted about 8 percent of fixed-income personnel through last month, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The push also affects the equities division, one person said.
Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein is undertaking the firm’s biggest cost-cutting push in years as the investment bank tries to weather a slump in trading and dealmaking, people familiar with the plan said last month. Managers, particularly focused on improving results in the securities division, have been looking this year at trimming as much as 10 percent of the company’s fixed-income operations -- going deeper than an annual 5 percent cull to make way for new hires, people have said.
The Wall Street Journal reported the recent escalation of fixed-income reductions earlier Thursday. Michael DuVally, a company spokesman, declined to comment on the expansion.
Tumbling Revenue
Goldman Sachs’s trading revenue tumbled 37 percent to $3.44 billion in this year’s first quarter from a year earlier, as market volatility and falling asset values drove clients to the sidelines. Revenue from trading bonds, currencies and commodities plunged 47 percent. The company’s stock is down 11 percent this year.
