MOVE from New York to Dallas or Salt Lake City. Leave London behind. At Goldman Sachs Group, some staffers will be getting a choice – and for many, not a welcome one.
The bank is trying to send more managers to locales outside its main hubs in an initiative dubbed informally by some as “Project Voyage”, according to people familiar with the matter. The message may come as part request, part ultimatum: We need you somewhere else, and it’s not here.
The push aims to drive down costs and tap a pipeline of talent emerging in these regions. The firm is also seeking to build out more functions and roles in these growing offices whose rise has been fuelled by junior-ranking employees, often in middle- and back-office functions.
At its debut investor day in 2020, Goldman Sachs outlined plans to trim US$1.3 billion in operating costs by shedding some managers and moving employees to lower-cost locales. It’s now leaning harder into the effort.
“We’re focused on operating the firm effectively and prudently over the long term,” Goldman spokesperson Abbey Collins said.
Chief executive officer David Solomon signalled that push in January when he said the firm was expanding its presence in strategic locations and “calibrating our pyramid structure.”
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The bank’s Dallas hub has already grown into one of its largest operations in the world, while staffing at the New York headquarters has stagnated.
Much of the shift has focused on middle- and back-office roles, disproportionately skewing toward the lower ranks. That’s stirred up concern that locations far from Wall Street could use more on-site management, including more vice-presidents, managing directors and even partners.
The plan underscores Solomon’s willingness to look beyond traditional financial hubs and reshape US operations geographically to rein in expenses, even if it means relocating large numbers of staff. Though Goldman has been branching out for years, the pandemic energized the effort, as managers learned how feasible it is to run businesses remotely.
Other growing Goldman locations include the UK’s Birmingham, Warsaw and Bengaluru, India, which was formerly known as Bangalore. Those places now host 43 per cent of Goldman’s workforce, which stood at 46,500 at the end of last year.
About half of the firm’s employees are based in the Americas, with Asia having the next biggest chunk at 30 per cent. BLOOMBERG
