Goldman Said to Plan 10 Percent Layoff

If anyone still doubted that a fresh round of mass layoffs would come this quarter, this should put any doubts to rest: Goldman Sachs reportedly is about to delete some 3,200 positions, or 10 percent of its worldwide work force.

The Wall Street Journal reported Goldman's plan for broad-based job cuts in a story Thursday that cited unnamed "people familiar with the matter." It gave few details beyond blaming a continued downturn in profit from investment banking and trading and a recent tilt toward reduced risk-taking.

"Goldman, which recently converted to a bank-holding company, has in recent months been less willing to put its capital on the line for both itself and its clients, which will result in lower profits going forward," the Journal says. "In September, with the company's work force at a record high, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar indicated he expected the company's head count to be flat or higher for the rest of the year. But the credit crisis has deepened since then, forcing Goldman to make the cuts."

It has been reported that both Barclays and Merrill Lynch are set to slash thousands of jobs from their respective staffs due to pending mergers.

The Journal says Merrill this week eliminated about 500 trading jobs around the world, including 75 from its Asian fixed-income and equity trading desks. Early this week Merrill Chief Executive John Thain said his firm's pending acquisition by Bank of America will result in "thousands" of job cuts.