Goldman Sachs is slashing 1% of its workforce after pausing job cuts during the pandemic, report says

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

• Goldman Sachs is looking to cut 400 jobs, roughly 1% of its workforce, sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday. 
• The company was among a number of US banks such as Citigroup and Wells Fargo that in March pledged to remain from cutting jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Goldman never specified how long the moratorium would last. 
• The job cuts come despite the bank's strong Q2 performance boosted by market volatility. 
• A source told Bloomberg the cuts could pave the way for deeper cuts to take place over the next few months to help the bank save $1 billion 
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Goldman Sachs is resuming job cuts after briefly pausing them during the pandemic and is looking to slash roughly 1% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. 

Bloomberg reported citing confidential sources who spoke on the basis of anonymity, the bank will roughly eliminate 400 positions, equivalent to about 1% of its 38,000-strong global workforce. 

Goldman will go ahead with the cuts, even though it posted a strong performance in its equity trading business in the second quarter, when revenue hit its second-highest level on record. 

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs told Bloomberg: "At the outbreak of the pandemic, the firm announced that it would suspend any job reductions. The firm has made a decision to move forward with a modest number of layoffs."

Goldman Sachs has become the latest big US bank to announce layoffs, reflecting again how the pandemic is leaving lasting damage.

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CNBC reported Wednesday Citigroup's new global head of equities trading Fater Belbachir cut at least three of his most senior US trading staff. 

A number of US banks, including Goldman Sachs, joined European banks back in March in pledging that they would refrain from job cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Wells Fargo, another US bank, is under major pressure to drastically reduce costs and slash headcount.

JPMorgan has also started cutting around 80 jobs in its consumer division, and "dozens" more across other lines of business, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. 

In Europe, HSBC resumed a massive redundancy plan that had put on hold in June under which it will cut 35,000 jobs over the medium term. 

Read more: We mapped out the power structure at Goldman Sachs and identified the bank's 125 top execs. Here's our exclusive org chart.

Goldman Sachs never specified how long its moratorium would last, but CEO David Solomon in June hinted at a resumption in cuts, saying "we'll do what is right for our shareholders."

The sources told Goldman Sachs the cuts could pave the way for deeper reductions in coming months and are intended to help the bank achieve a target to save $1 billion in costs laid out in January. 

Many of the cuts are across back-office roles, one of the sources told Bloomberg. 

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