Goldman Sachs to shed up to 1000 jobs

Goldman Sachs announced late on Tuesday that it will lay off around three percent of its workforce, an estimated 1,000 staff, amid disappointing 2Q11 results.

The news by the investment bank comes following lower than anticipated 2Q11 net earnings of $1.09bn after fixed income revenue dropped significantly due to a fall in trading activity.

The bank reported its biggest slump in the currency, commodities and fixed income division with $1.6bn, a 53 percent decrease year-on-year.

New York-based Goldman Sachs said that net income climbed 77 percent to $1.09bn, or $1.85 per share, from $613m, or 78 cents, during the same period in 2010.

Goldman’s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, said: “Certain of our businesses had disappointing results as we reduced our market risk in response to attempting to manage fluctuations in prices and market liquidity.”