Emma Alexander was recently fired from Goldman Sachs, along with more than 3,000 other employees. Despite the unusually large number of layoffs this year, they are a looming prospect for those working in the financial sector.
Allison V. Smith
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Allison V. Smith
Emma Alexander was recently fired from Goldman Sachs, along with more than 3,000 other employees. Despite the unusually large number of layoffs this year, they are a looming prospect for those working in the financial sector.
Allison V. Smith
Days before Goldman Sachs laid off more than 3,000 employees, Emma Alexander and her colleagues felt nervous.
News of the imminent layoffs leaked and anxiety spread across Goldman’s global offices.
Then Alexander got a message from her boss, Ask her to come to the meeting room.
“And I was like, OK, great,” she recalls. “I guess that’s me. I guess it’s happening right now.”
Twenty minutes after meeting her boss, Alexander handed in her badge and she left her office in Dallas one last time.
She’s been caught up in the biggest job cuts at Goldman since the Global Financial Crisis. Legendary bank lay off more than 3,000 employees last month.
High speed on Wall Street
Working in a bank was not Alexander’s dream. She is a student majoring in sociology and holds a master’s degree in public policy.
Alexander said she got her first job after graduating in 2020, just as the pandemic began to spread. But she gradually fell in love with the competitive and fast-paced culture of the financial industry.
For Alexander, the layoffs were a rude introduction to another fact of Wall Street life: layoffs.
Some areas are more prone to layoffs than finance, where a bad year in the market — or a bad performance review — can mean you’re out of work.
According to a 2021 report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office, the securities industry has experienced 13 job losses in the past 30 years when data is available, or nearly every two years.
When your job is tied to how the market works
Like its rivals, Goldman Sachs is facing a difficult environment, with high inflation and rising interest rates, and uncertainty about the future of the US economy.
Image of Michael M. Santiago/Getty
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Image of Michael M. Santiago/Getty
Like its rivals, Goldman Sachs is facing a difficult environment, with high inflation and rising interest rates, and uncertainty about the future of the US economy.
Image of Michael M. Santiago/Getty
The layoffs are part of an understood but unwritten rule, according to Wall Street employees: High pay — for example, a first-year associate at Goldman making more than $150,000 a year, not yet. including bonuses. – but with that compensation, it’s understood that getting cut is an ever-present risk.
“It always happens,” says David Stowell, a finance professor at Northwestern University who spent most of his career at Goldman. “Most Wall Street companies are expected to have some cuts each year.”
However, the number of Goldman employees laid off this year is unusually large.
Due to high prices, rising interest rates, and an unstable economic situation, many of Goldman’s corporate clients have stayed on the sidelines, and the company’s profits on Wall Street have fallen dramatically as a result.
The performance of financial companies is closely linked to the way the market works, as well as to the fate of its employees. It’s a practice on Wall Street that can be frustrating when it comes to layoffs.
“Financial markets are unpredictable and cyclical,” says Stowell. “So you live and die with the market.”
Performance evaluation
Under the leadership of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, the company’s headcount has grown significantly. Earlier this month, Goldman laid off more than 3,000 employees.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Under the leadership of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, the company’s headcount has grown significantly. Earlier this month, Goldman laid off more than 3,000 employees.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
But the larger-than-usual layoffs announced by Goldman this year also mark another aspect of Wall Street life that has returned: the annual performance review.
On Wall Street, they are known to be comprehensive and consequential. These assessments are used not only to determine the size of your bonus, but also to determine whether you will keep your job.
Every year, bankers are evaluated by their peers, bosses and subordinates. The company measures how much money they bring in and how well they work with their teammates.
Underperforming people are often let go. According to Stowell, it makes performance appraisal an extremely powerful management tool.
“In my experience, a little bit of fear is good,” he said. “It motivates you to do better.”
It still hurts
In 2016, John Gooden was part of a round of layoffs at Bank of America. “They are part of life,” he said. “I just didn’t think at the time it would be me.”
Courtesy of John Gooden
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Courtesy of John Gooden
In 2016, John Gooden was part of a round of layoffs at Bank of America. “They are part of life,” he said. “I just didn’t think at the time it would be me.”
Courtesy of John Gooden
The prospect of layoffs can be something employees have to live with, but when it happens, it still stings.
John Gooden learned that lesson in 2016, when he was a sophomore at Bank of America.
One September, on his way to the office, he learned that his company had started laying off employees. Hours later, Gooden suffered the same fate.
“I was completely caught off guard,” he said. “It was like the wind blew me away, and I really didn’t know what to do.”
Gooden remembers stumbling around the office and saying goodbye to some of his team members. He did some soul searching. After that, Gooden began calling his contacts and sending copies of resumes.
“After you lick your wound a little bit, you have to come back to it,” he says. “Especially me. I’ve got a family to support.”
Gooden is back on his feet, and six years later, he’s still working on Wall Street.
Increase again
Emma Alexander didn’t dream of a career in finance, but she quickly fell in love with her job at Goldman Sachs.
Allison V. Smith for NPR
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Allison V. Smith for NPR
Emma Alexander didn’t dream of a career in finance, but she quickly fell in love with her job at Goldman Sachs.
Allison V. Smith for NPR
Alexander also remembers being “in a state of shock” after her supervisor told her she would be released.
“I’ve endured it pretty hard,” she said. “I was pretty sad.”
Alexander estimated the entire challenge to last about 20 minutes. She had a briefing with her team, and after that, she was escorted out of the building. Alexander doesn’t have time to finish the emails she’s writing, and she can’t finish the work she’s doing.
She said the following days were difficult. Today, she’s applying for a job in finance, thinking about what might happen next.
“I’m in it now and I love it,” she said. “But I also wondered if maybe I should take some time and think about going back and doing something that I probably learned and went to school.”
Today, Alexander is still looking for work – it’s likely not on Wall Street.
