David Solomon is sharpening his axe again.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Goldman Sachs' CEO will cut more than 1,300 jobs as part of the bank's ongoing review to shed underperforming employees.
The Wall Street Journal added, citing people familiar with the matter, that Goldman's cuts would affect 3% to 4% of the bank's 45,000 employees.
The cuts have already begun and are set to continue through the fall, based on the bank's annual review process called a “strategic resource assessment,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Our annual talent reviews are normal, standard and customary – there is nothing else noteworthy about them,” Goldman spokesman Tony Fratto told the paper.
He added that the number of employees will increase at the end of 2024 compared to the end of last year.
The bank aims to reduce its workforce by 2% to 7% on a rolling basis each year based on a range of performance factors, market conditions and financial outlook.
Last year, between 1% and 5% of employees reportedly lost their jobs as a result of the initiative.
Goldman has resumed performance-linked job cuts in 2022 after a two-year halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the height of the pandemic, Goldman Sachs and other large banks allowed flexible work-from-home arrangements.
But companies are now bringing employees back to work and beginning to crack down on employees who don't show up regularly.
Back in 2021, Solomon called remote work an “anomaly that needs to be fixed as quickly as possible.”
One of the elements of annual performance reviews at major banks is office attendance.
The cuts follow Goldman's layoffs of about 3,200 employees in January 2023 amid a trading slump and cuts to bonuses.
But despite concerns about a weak economy and possible instability surrounding the U.S. presidential election, there is hope that a strong recovery may be seen by the end of the year.
Goldman Sachs reported that its investment banking revenues rose 21% in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
“From what we're seeing, the capital markets and M&A recovery is still in the early stages,” Solomon said on an earnings call last month.
Goldman shares turned positive in afternoon trading, closing up 0.6%. The company's shares have surged nearly 32% this year, outpacing the broader market.
