Goldman Sachs to slow down hiring, bring back annual performance reviews

GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc plans to slow hiring and reinstate annual performance reviews as the Wall Street bank looks to rein in expenses.

“Given the challenging operating environment, we are closely re-examining all of our forward spending and investment plans to ensure the best use of our resources,” chief financial officer Denis Coleman said Monday (Jul 18) on a conference call with analysts. “We’re taking a number of actions to improve our operating efficiency. Specifically, we have made the decision to slow hiring velocity and reduce certain professional fees.”

In addition, the New York-based firm could reduce the pace of replacing staff it loses because of attrition, Coleman said, adding that it plans to reinstate annual performance reviews at the end of the year, a practice it had suspended during the pandemic. 

The reviews were typically used to weed out the worst-performing staff.

Total operating expenses declined in the second quarter from a year earlier as the firm cut compensation and benefits, but the company also reported increases in costs from growth initiatives.  BLOOMBERG