Goldman Said to Cut as Many as 30 Sales, Trading Jobs

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), the Wall Street bank that generated 58 percent of first-half revenue from sales and trading, eliminated 20 to 30 jobs in that division this week, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The cuts affected salespeople and traders in the U.S., with most taking place in New York, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the reductions aren’t being announced publicly. The decision is part of a continuous review of staffing levels amid difficult markets, the person said.

Goldman Sachs, the fifth-biggest U.S. bank by assets, said last month that it plans to eliminate $500 million from annual expenses, mostly from compensation, after reporting its lowest first-half revenue since 2005. The cuts are on top of a $1.4 billion expense-reduction program that was completed earlier this year. Goldman Sachs employed 32,300 people at the end of June, according to a company press release.

“We’re controlling the levers that we can, which are expenses and capital,” Chief Financial Officer David A. Viniar, 57, said on a July 17 conference call with analysts. “We obviously don’t want to go too far on either one because we think that the world will get better.”

In June, Goldman Sachs eliminated several dozen administrative jobs in the U.S. and also cut fewer than 50 jobs that included some managing directors, the second-highest position at the firm after partners, a person familiar with the matter said at the time.

Tiffany Galvin, a spokeswoman at Goldman Sachs in New York, declined to comment on the job reductions.

To contact the reporters on this story: Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net; Laura Marcinek in New York at lmarcinek3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net

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Goldman Sachs Said to Cut as Many as 30 Sales, Trading Jobs

Mario Tama/Getty Images

People are reflected as they walk past Goldman Sachs headquarters on March 14, 2012 in New York City.

People are reflected as they walk past Goldman Sachs headquarters on March 14, 2012 in New York City. Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Goldman Sachs Said to Cut as Many as 30 Sales, Trading Jobs

Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said last month that it plans to eliminate $500 million from annual expenses, mostly from compensation, after reporting its lowest first-half revenue since 2005.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said last month that it plans to eliminate $500 million from annual expenses, mostly from compensation, after reporting its lowest first-half revenue since 2005. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg