Goldman Sachs May Cut Up to 3,000 Jobs Ahead of Expected Third Quarter Loss

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) may be considering deep job cuts ahead of what is expected to be one of its worst-performing quarters since the bank went public a dozen years ago.

The bank will release its third quarter earnings results on October 18.

Barclays Capital indicated that Goldman might incur a third quarter loss – for the first time since the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008 when it lost $2.12 billion in the fourth quarter of that year.

Earlier this summer, Goldman already warned it was seeking to cut costs by $1.2-billion by the middle of next year, leading to the dismissal of about 1,000 employees, or about 3 percent of its total workforce.

However, the New York Times reported Tuesday that the bank wants to reduce costs by $1.45-billion – which means up to 3,000 jobs may go in light to slimmer revenues from its sales-trading desks, as well as the dampening force of the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis and a feared economic global slowdown, among other worries.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper of Britain speculates that the brunt of job cuts will likely occur in Europe and The United States.

In addition, the bank is expected to freeze salaries or, in some cases reduce payouts.