Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects to put a tighter leash on hiring this year after embarking on one of the firm’s biggest rounds of job cuts ever, Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said.
“We have a much tighter hiring plan in 2023,” Solomon said at a Credit Suisse Group AG conference Tuesday. “We’re very focused on expenses.”
Goldman last month began implementing a plan to eliminate about 3,200 positions, or 6.5% of the bank’s headcount. The move was meant to address rising expenses and falling revenue and profit. Slowdowns in various business lines, an expensive consumer-banking foray and an uncertain outlook for markets and the economy are prompting the bank to rein in costs.
Merger activity and fees from raising money for companies have taken a hit across Wall Street, and a slump in asset prices has crimped another source of gains for the New York-based company. But Solomon said sentiment among chief executive officers has improved in recent months after predictions last year that the US economy was headed toward a possible recession.
“The consensus has shifted to be a little bit more dovish in the CEO community that we can navigate through this with a softer economic landing,” Solomon, 61, said at the conference. “The chance of a softer landing feels better than it did six to nine months ago.”
Goldman plans to host an investor day on Feb. 28, only the second in the bank’s history.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.