FirstFT: Goldman Sachs plans more job cuts

Goldman Sachs is preparing to impose another round of job cuts on employees deemed to be the worst performers, people familiar with the matter have told the Financial Times.

The planned move, which could start next month, is part of an annual exercise that typically results in between 1 per cent and 5 per cent of company-wide employees losing their jobs.

Goldman is targeting a number at the lower end of that range, the people said, at parts of its core investment banking and trading businesses. A 1 per cent cut in Goldman’s total headcount, which includes asset and wealth management as well as operational roles, would equal about 440 jobs.

Managers across Goldman have drawn up lists of employees who could be dismissed. This is what we know so far about the planned cuts.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• G20 summit: India’s prime minister Narendra Modi will host a bilateral meeting with US president Joe Biden ahead of the start of the G20 summit in New Delhi tomorrow.

• Mexico-Colombia relations: Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador visits Colombia to meet his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro.

• Tennis: The women’s and men’s final of the US Open will be held in New York on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. State employees across China, from nuclear power plants to far-flung hospitals, have been told in recent weeks to stop using Apple iPhones as part of a Beijing-led pushback against the US tech group. Investor concerns about the curbs, which have not been confirmed by the government in Beijing, have knocked $200bn off Apple’s market valuation in the past two days.

2. Janet Yellen has said she does not expect the slowdown in China to have a “very significant direct impact on the United States”. The US Treasury secretary, who was speaking earlier today in New Delhi ahead of the start of the G20 summit, added that China had “quite a bit of policy space” to address to the economic slowdown. The renminbi, meanwhile, continued its slide against the dollar on Friday.

3. Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. He is the fourth former FTX executive to cut a deal with prosecutors, further isolating founder Sam Bankman-Fried less than a month before his trial is set to begin. Here’s our report on the court hearing.

4. A former climate scientist and a self-made businesswoman will contest Mexico’s presidential election next year after the ruling Morena party chose former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as its candidate. Sheinbaum’s selection pits her against Xóchitl Gálvez, leader of the free-market National Action party, and means Mexico is likely to have its first female leader in its 200-year history after the June 2024 poll. Here’s more on the candidates.

5. Germany is pushing the EU to postpone tariffs on electric vehicle sales with the UK, backing calls by Rishi Sunak’s government for a three-year delay to the duties. The bloc is set to impose 10 per cent levies on EVs shipped across the Channel from January if they have batteries made outside Europe. Here’s why Berlin has shifted its stance.

• Go deeper: After months of fruitless lobbying to deter Chinese EV imports, Europe’s carmakers are preparing to face down competition from their newest rivals.

Today’s big read

A renewed effort by Saudi Arabia and Russia this week to push the price of oil towards $100 a barrel threatens to become another headache for Joe Biden as he puts his record on the US economy — and thwarting inflation — at the centre of his re-election bid. What role could Riyadh play in a tight US election?

We’re also reading . . . 

Chart of the day

The euro is on course for an eighth straight week of losses against the dollar as concerns grow that the eurozone economy is heading for a downturn. In contrast, the US is proving more resilient than investors had expected, with the latest labour market data released yesterday indicating jobless claims unexpectedly fell. What next for the euro?

Take a break from the news

New York’s private member clubs are thriving. Josh Chaffin visits some of the new entrants to a scene that harks back to 19th-century London and a desire to flaunt wealth and exclusivity.

Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm