Goldman Sachs ahead of investor day: signs of a hiring squeeze
Tomorrow is Goldman Sachs' investor day. Whatever rabbits are pulled out of the hat by CEO David Solomon, one thing seems clear: after years of heavy hiring, 2023 is not going to be a big year for Goldman Sachs recruitment.
Unlike Bank of America, Goldman hasn't put an explicit freeze on hiring, but Solomon has made it clear that recruitment will be tepid this year. “We have a much tighter hiring plan in 2023. We’re very focused on expenses...,” he said earlier this month.
Goldman's own jobs portal clarifies just how much tighter hiring will be. The firm's engineering division, historically one of its most vigorous recruiters, has only 12 positions open right now, all of which are presumably critical. Across investment banking and markets there are only 48 open roles. The most prolific area for recruitment is internal audit, confirming the apparent trend for controls hiring whatever the external weather.
Goldman didn't comment on the apparent severe squeeze on new recruits during what's often the most important quarter for attracting new candidates. In the first quarter of 2022, the firm added 1,200 people. In the second quarter, it added another 1,900, many of whom will have been lined-up in Q1.
So who is Goldman hiring this year? Beyond internal audit, the emphasis seems to be 'platform solutions', with various new recruits for Greensky, the home lending firm it acquired last year. This is despite the fact that the firm is attempting to shave the loss in its consumer business from $2bn to $1bn this year. Tellingly, perhaps, one of the new vacancies is for a 'workforce management analyst' to forecast how many people are needed to work on Marcus, the loss making app-based bank.
In markets, there are signs that Goldman is adding to its macro team, with vacancies for a strat on the rates desk and an inflation salesperson. It also wants a distressed debt researcher (Credit Suisse, which is closing its team, might oblige).
Who isn't Goldman Sachs hiring now? One answer seems to be analysts and associates in the investment banking division. Ahead of investor day, we can't see any vacancies of this kind at all.
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