Goldman Sachs to ax 125 managing directors worldwide

Goldman Sachs has begun axing managing directors across the globe as the Wall Street giant looks to cut costs amid a profitability crunch, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

About 125 managing directors, including some in investment banking, are going to be fired as part of a round of layoffs that’s set to affect 250 employees at every level.

While the spokeswoman declined to comment any further, sources — who asked to remain anonymous since the matter isn’t public — told Bloomberg that managing directors have already begun to receive pink slips.

The latest reduction in headcount comes as deal values have fallen more than 40% to $1.2 trillion this year.

In September, Goldman handed pink slips to 1% to 5% of mid-level investment bankers in the US, London and China offices.

The cuts came after the Wall Street behemoth reported second-quarter earnings of $2.93 billion, precipitously lower than the second quarter of 2021, when the bank hauled in $5.49 billion.

Then in December, sources caught wind of an impending cut of as many as 4,000 “low performing” staffers — a week after Goldman reportedly slashed its struggling retail banking division by 400.

The bloodbath was dubbed “David’s Demolition Day” as word of the layoffs by hard-charging chief executive David Solomon spread throughout the firm’s headquarters in downtown Manhattan.

By January, 3,200 workers were removed from payroll — the most significant since Goldman culled its ranks following the 2008 financial crisis.

Robinhood to ax 7% of full-time staff in latest round of layoffs

Roughly 150 full-time employees are being laid off, according to internal company messages.

Online brokerage firm Robinhood Markets will reportedly lay off roughly 150 full-time staff — 7% of its total workforce — in its third round of layoffs in just over a year. 

According to an internal company message seen by The Wall Street Journal, Robinhood Chief Financial Officer Jason Warnick reportedly wrote that the cuts were being made to “adjust to volumes and to better align team structures.”

The reported layoffs come just five days after Robinhood acquired credit card firm X1 in a $95 million deal. Last year, Robinhood cut its total headcount by 9% in April and let go of 23% of its remaining staff in August as a decline in trading activity and subdued prices of equities and cryptocurrencies saw profit margins shrink.

The two cuts accounted for the loss of more than 1,000 staff.

At its peak, in the second quarter of 2021, Robinhood boasted 21.3 million active users and more than $565 million in revenue. Things have soured for the brokerage firm of late, with Robinhood’s Q1 2023 results showing a 44% decline in monthly active users and a 30% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Grubhub laying off 400 employees

Grubhub is laying off 400 corporate employees, about 15% of its workforce, amid higher costs and declining orders.

“We need to make some tough decisions in order to maintain our competitiveness, deliver the best possible service for diners and our other partners, and be successful for the long-term,” the food delivery brand’s CEO Howard Migdal said in a letter that was sent to staff this morning and posted to the Grubhub website.

“As a result, today we have made the very difficult decision to reduce headcount at Grubhub,” he said. “I know it will come as a shock to you.”

Affected employees are being alerted “the next several hours,” Migdal wrote in the letter, which was sent out at 8 AM ET, according to the company.

Reddit cutting 5% of its staff amid a stalled IPO

Reddit Inc. is cutting its workforce by about 5% and reducing its hiring plans, as the startup refocuses on future growth.

The online forum operator is eliminating around 90 full-time roles, according to a memo sent to staff by Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman, seen by Bloomberg News. The company has around 2,000 full-time employees. Reddit will also reduce its hiring plans to 100 new roles, down from 300 previously.

“The team and I reviewed and adjusted our plan through the end of 2024,” Huffman wrote in the memo. “We’ve had a solid first half of the year and this restructuring will position us to carry that momentum into the second half and beyond.”

The tech industry has been slashing staff since last year after over-hiring during the pandemic. Technology companies have announced about 136,800 job cuts in the year through May, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, more than any full year since 2001. Reddit was one of the few holdouts that hadn’t yet announced any major staff reductions.