It's the fourth quarter, and this means the annual cull of underperformers at Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Goldman is preparing to cut between 3% and 4% of its workforce, amounting to between 1,300 and 1,800 people. The cuts, which are known by the euphemism of "strategic resource assessment" (SRA), have already started. They will go on for a few months.
It could be worse. In bad years, the SRA consumes 7% of Goldman's workforce, which would mean 3,171 people will be impacted. But, given that profits at Goldman Sachs rose 61% year-on-year in the six months to June, it's perhaps surprising that Goldman is cutting jobs at all.
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