Morgan Stanley layoffs prompt warnings of Goldman Sachs OneGS 3.0 cuts

eFinancialCareers' March 5, 2026 Morning Coffee roundup flagged that Morgan Stanley announced a "substantial round of cuts" and that insiders expect Goldman Sachs could follow with job reductions in the coming months. That industry signal landed as Reuters and Fortune reported Goldman had informed employees of potential job cuts and a hiring slowdown tied to a new AI-driven initiative called OneGS 3.0.

Reuters reported on Oct 14 that the OneGS 3.0 memo, seen by the news agency, was signed by CEO David Solomon, President John Waldron and CFO Denis Coleman and identified priorities for AI deployment including sales, the client on-boarding process, lending processes, regulatory reporting and vendor management. The memo added, "The rapidly accelerating advancements in AI can unlock significant productivity gains for us, and we are confident we can re-invest those gains to continue delivering world-class solutions for our clients."

Fortune said it obtained the internal note and quoted its language that the bank is "still in the early innings in terms of assessing where AI solutions can best be deployed" and that "it is clear our operational efficiency goals need to reflect the gains that will come from these technologies." Fortune reported Goldman plans to "constrain headcount growth through the end of the year" and that Bloomberg reviewed the same internal note describing a "limited reduction in roles across the firm."

Staffing figures cited in reporting underline the tension between cuts and hires. Fortune reported Goldman had 48,300 employees at the end of September, roughly 1,800 more than the previous year, and that earlier in 2025 the bank reduced net headcount by around 700 during its regular annual adjustment. Reuters' summary lines included that annual staffing cuts had been moved to the second quarter, targeting a 3%-5% reduction.

A spokesman for Goldman told Reuters the company "still expects to finish the year with a net increase in overall headcount," a line echoed in coverage by Fortune and the Times of India as the firm balances operational modernization with recruitment in other areas. Reuters also noted Goldman beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter profit as investment bankers earned higher advisory fees and rallying markets boosted revenue from managing client assets.

Business Insider reporting, citing Goldman research and external trackers, framed the broader backdrop: state filings for planned mass layoffs have surged to their highest level since 2016 excluding the pandemic spike, WARN-related filings are at their highest in nearly a decade, and Challenger, Gray & Christmas data showed layoff announcements by October "had climbed to a level previously unseen outside of a recession." Goldman economists described the combination of rising signals as "growing signs of weakness," even as the bank said it has not concluded AI is driving a significant share of recent job cuts; Business Insider noted Amazon cut about 14,000 corporate jobs "this fall" as an example.

With Morgan Stanley's cuts flagged on March 5 and the OneGS 3.0 memo circulating among employees, Goldman staff should expect constrained headcount growth through year-end under a plan that explicitly ties limited role reductions to AI-driven operational efficiency, even as the firm projects a modest net rise in overall headcount.