Goldman Sachs warns of cuts amid fears over job review process

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon signaled he’s sharpening the ax again on Tuesday — and the bank’s yearly performance review ritual is rattling employees even further, The Post has learned.

The hard-charging boss — who said Tuesday he may slim down the “footprint of the organization” — has stressed-out workers griping about Goldman’s “Strategic Resource Assessment.”

Now the buckets are “you are great, you are average, or you stink,” one source told The Post.

“The firm changes the review structure so frequently it’s hard to keep up,” the source added. “It’s like they can’t figure out how to get it right internally.”

However, a Goldman spokesperson denied the company has changed its assessment process since 2020.

“There haven’t been changes since and it’s inaccurate to say otherwise,” the rep said.

The investment bank has historically targeted between 1% and 5% of lower performers in positions across the firm, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.

Employees won’t learn their fate for a few more weeks. Those who get to keep their jobs will then find out about their bonuses, which are expected to be significantly less this year.

“People are very nervous… all just waiting in anticipation,” one Goldman insider told The Post.

In September, Goldman began its biggest round of cuts since the pandemic began, with an eye at eliminating hundreds from the global workforce estimated at 47,000.

Solomon painted a grim picture of the economy and the steps Goldman will take to stay afloat on Tuesday.

“You have to assume that we have some bumpy times ahead,” he told Bloomberg News. “You have to be a little more cautious with your financial resources, with your sizing and footprint of the organization.”

Goldman isn’t the only big bank looking to downsize. Morgan Stanley will chop about 2% of its workforce, a source familiar with the company’s plans said Tuesday. The job cuts, first reported by CNBC, affect about 1,600 positions.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman disclosed in an interview last Thursday that the mega-bank was making “modest cuts all over the globe.”

“Some people are going to be let go,” Gorman said in a sitdown at the Reuters Next Conference. “In most businesses, that’s what you do after many years of growth.”

Other banks including Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Barclays are also making cuts.