Goldman Sachs to lay off up to 3,200 employees this week

Job cuts would be company's largest round of layoffs in years

Goldman Sachs is expected to lay off up to 3,200 employees this week, its largest round of job cuts since the 2008 financial crisis. AFP

Goldman Sachs is expected to lay off to 3,200 employees in what could become its largest round of job cuts in years.

The total number of jobs shed will equate to 6 per cent of the company's workforce of 41,900 employees, NBC reported.

Most layoffs are expected to occur in the trading and banking units, Bloomberg reported.

The job cuts are significantly lower than what reports predicted last year, with expectations that Goldman Sachs would cut 4,000 — or 8 per cent — of its employees.

Shares of the financial services company have dropped 10.81 per cent since last year.

The company has seen a 46 per cent drop in profits through its decision to enter into retail banking, as well as through industry trends that have affected all of Wall Street, including a slump in fees from raising money for companies.

Chief executive David Solomon previously said he would scale back his plans for consumer banking, which accounts for some of the layoffs.

The last time Goldman Sachs underwent layoffs at such a scale was after the fall of Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. The company at the time looked to lay off 3,000 employees.

The layoffs come a week before the company's year-end compensation discussions.

Goldman is also scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results next week.

Bloomberg contributed to this report