Bankers with ESG skills manage to dodge wave of layoffs, study shows

Asset managers, asset owners and banks continue to seek ESG talent, defying a broader hiring downturn and outpacing every other sector, Barclays says

Goldman Sachs Group embarked on one of its biggest rounds of reductions ever last month, cutting about 3,200 positions. Reuters

A wave of job cuts that has swept through the global finance industry has not affected demand for environmental, social and governance (ESG) specialists, where hiring growth continued through 2022, a study by Barclays showed.

Analysts at the UK bank, who used natural language processing to trawl through more than 200 million job postings, found that asset managers, asset owners and banks “continue to seek ESG skills and talent, defying a broader hiring downturn and outpacing every other sector”.

The findings suggest that it pays to build expertise in ESG strategies, as some of the world’s largest banks resort to deep cuts in more traditional corners of their business.

Goldman Sachs Group embarked on one of its biggest rounds of reductions ever last month, cutting about 3,200 positions. Morgan Stanley parted ways with 1,600 employees in December, while others such as Bank of America have also resorted to layoffs, albeit on a smaller scale.

Many of the announced cuts will restore banks’ headcount to pre-pandemic levels and coincide with efforts in the industry to adjust to a slowdown in deal-making.

A company's ESG hiring record tends to be a good indicator not only of its commitment to sustainability, but also of its stock performance going forward, said Alexa Walls and Jason Goldberg, the Barclays analysts behind the research, and data scientist Adam Lauretig.

They singled out BlackRock as a firm with a high level of interest in adding ESG jobs. At Goldman Sachs, they found the interest level to be moderate.

“Firms with higher than normal ESG hiring interest were more likely to experience subsequent rating improvements and enjoyed better stock performance two to three years following the posting date,” they said.

The Barclays study also indicated that the headwinds faced by firms embracing ESG in the US, where Republican states have issued several bans against the investing form, have not dented the finance industry’s commitment to it.

“Even as news headlines have questioned whether ESG is losing traction, it seems buyside and sellside alike remain convinced of its strategic relevance and future demand,” the Barclays analysts wrote.

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Facebook parent Meta is cutting 11,000 jobs, the first major round of layoffs in the social-media company’s history. 'I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,' said Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, pictured. AP

Hewlett-Packard expects to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of the 2025 fiscal year, or about 12 per cent of its global workforce, as computer sales slide amid consumer budget constraints. AFP

Apple, the iPhone maker, has paused hiring for many jobs outside of research and development, an escalation of its plan to reduce budgets heading into next year. AFP

Digital banking start-up Chime Financial is cutting 12 per cent of its staff, or 160 people. A representative of the company said Chime remains well-capitalised and the move will position it for 'sustained success'. Reuters

Cisco Systems is beginning a restructuring plan that will affect about 5 per cent of employees. The company says it will incur pretax charges of about $600 million for severance, termination and other costs. The employees will be given a chance to move to other jobs within the company, chief financial officer Scott Herren said. AFP

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Intel is cutting jobs and slowing spending on new plants to save $3 billion next year, the chip maker said. The hope is to save as much as $10 billion by 2025. The headcount reduction could be in the thousands. Reuters

Lyft's cost-saving efforts include divesting its vehicle service business. It is eliminating 13 per cent of staff, or about 683 people. The company had already said it would freeze hiring in the US until at least next year. Reuters

Peloton laid off 500 employees globally, or about 12 per cent of the workforce, in October. It was the fourth time this year the company has cut staff. Along with other expense reduction measures, Peloton said the move will help it reach the break-even point on cash flow by the end of the 2023 fiscal year. Reuters

Qualcomm has frozen hiring in response to a faster-than-feared decline in demand for phones, which use its chips. It now expects smartphone shipments to decline in the double-digit per cent range this year, worse than the outlook it gave earlier. Reuters

Salesforce is focusing on margins as demand for its software products slows. The company has cut hundreds of workers from sales teams as it looks to improve profitability. Since 2017, Salesforce had almost tripled its workforce. AP

Payments company Stripe, one of the world’s most valuable start-ups, is cutting more than 1,000 jobs. The 14 per cent staff reduction will return its headcount to about 7,000. Co-founders Patrick, pictured, and John Collison told staff that they needed to trim expenses more broadly to prepare for 'leaner times'. Bloomberg