U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs has laid off at least 25 bankers in Asia. The reason for this is the volatility on the capital markets, which affects business in all sectors.
According to the report, the layoffs affect the capital markets division in the healthcare, telecommunications, media and technology businesses in Asia. Most of them are operational bankers involved in the Greater China business, which includes China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Goldman Sachs and several similar firms rushed to hire staff to expand their presence in China after the country was fully opened to the securities industry. However, subsequent closures and political crises crippled investment banking in mainland China.
Last week, Goldman Sachs planned to lay off employees as early as this month after suspending annual layoffs for two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Goldman Sachs employed 47,000 people at the end of June, 15% more than a year earlier. A job cut of 1% would correspond to a reduction of around 500 employees.