Goldman May Slash 3,200 Jobs, 10% of Workforce, as Credit Turmoil Worsens

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

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.

Banks worldwide are shelving deals and cutting jobs as the unprecedented turmoil in credit markets spreads and spurs concern the global economy may fall into a recession. Goldman, which converted to a bank holding company last month and is receiving $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury, has dropped by almost 50 percent in New York trading this year.

``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 are cutting 10 percent is quite indicative of the fact that there are still a lot of problems ahead.''

The new job cuts signal a reversal in strategy at Goldman since Sept. 16, when Chief Financial Officer David Viniar told analysts he expected the number of Goldman employees to increase by a percentage ``in the low single digits'' this year, excluding the purchase of a mortgage servicing company.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adwYoYnTqRNo&refer=home

[aldo]

1. Let these criminals go bankrupt

nt