(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs Group Inc will lay off up to 4,000 people as the Wall Street bank struggles to meet profitability targets, news platform Semafor reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Managers across the firm have been asked to identify low performers for what could be a cut of up to 8% to its workforce early next year, the people said, with some cautioning that no final list has been drawn up, according to the report.
Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The bank said in September it was planning to cut jobs, after pausing the annual practice for two years during the pandemic, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters at the time.
Goldman’s headcount swelled to over 49,000 at the end of September, up 14% from a year earlier. The investment bank had first warned in July it might slow hiring and cut expenses.
Global banks, including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc, have reduced their workforce in recent months as a dealmaking boom on Wall Street has fizzled out due to high interest rates and soaring inflation.
Investment bankers were awash with deals in 2021, but have seen few this year as companies halt buyouts and listings amid volatility in capital markets, tensions between the United States and China and the Russia-Ukraine war.
(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)