Goldman Sachs, a leading US bank, recently had to make the difficult decision to lay off up to 3,200 employees in response to economic difficulties impacting the fintech industry and the global economy at large. This represents the largest round of layoffs for the company since 2008, during the global financial crisis.
Despite the cuts, Goldman Sachs plans to continue strengthening its digital assets unit by hiring additional experts to join its current team of around 70 employees. The global head of digital assets, Mathew McDermott, stated that the bank will remain committed to exploring different applications of blockchain technology, and will continue to hire new employees for this sector “as appropriate.”
According to an unnamed source familiar with the matter, the cuts have affected employees from all levels of the company, including junior, middle, and senior-level executives. The bank intends to focus on its banking units and core trading in the wake of the layoffs.
At the recent 2023 Investor Day in New York, Goldman Sachs’ CFO, Denis Coleman, stated that a portion of the cuts would involve holding off on replacing departing employees in order to prioritize strategic hires.
Despite Goldman Sachs’ growing interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, its strategies have recently been called into question. The bank reportedly underperformed compared to Morgan Stanley by nearly $40 billion. However, the bank remains committed to exploring opportunities in the crypto space, including potentially buying crypto firms. McDermott noted that the bank is already conducting due diligence on some of these companies.
Overall, while the recent layoffs are certainly a setback for Goldman Sachs, the bank remains committed to moving forward and strengthening its digital assets unit and exploring opportunities in the crypto space.
