Goldman to cut more jobs as it rehauls consumer business

Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc aims to cut at least a few hundred more jobs as the Wall Street titan restructures its struggling consumer business and braces for an uncertain economy in the year ahead.
The bank is drafting plans that could eliminate at least 400 positions from its loss-making retail banking operations, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chief Executive Officer David Solomon has said he’s dialing back the firm’s ambitions for consumer banking. The latest cuts show the firm is moving beyond its annual exercise of weeding out underperforming staff, which was the focus just months ago. The CEO has recently also signaled he’s reviewing other business lines to manage headcount and limit costs.
The firm is facing mounting pressure on expenses after spending significantly on technology and integrating operations, and as analysts predict the company’s adjusted annual profit will
fall 44%.
The consumer unit’s swelling costs, a slowdown in dealmaking and a slump in asset prices were enough to take a big bite out of the firm’s bonus pool this year.
“We continue to see headwinds on our expense lines, particularly in the near term,” Solomon said at a conference. “We’ve set in motion certain expense mitigation plans, but it will take some time to realise the benefits. Ultimately, we will remain nimble and we will size the firm to reflect the opportunity set.”
A company spokesperson declined to comment. The plans are still being finalised, one of the people said, asking not to be named discussing internal deliberations.
Under Solomon, the New York-based firm has dabbled in acquisitions to beef up business lines outside its core Wall Street profit engine to build a more diversified company. That contributed to a surge in headcount.