Half of Sacs' Technology Jobs Might Move to Birmingham

Goldman Sach’s in search of a new technology hub outside London; considers Manchester and Birmingham.

11:27 10 February 2020

Goldman Sachs is currently looking for a 60,000 square feet of space to house a new technology hub outside London. The firm is not commenting on the reports but insiders say that the company could move around half of its current UK technology team either in Manchester or Birmingham.

 

The move seems to follow the strategy previously taken by other banks such as JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, Deutsche, Citi and Bank of America, which now has technology centres outside London.

 

Commenting on the news, a senior technologist at a rival bank, said: "Goldman is struggling to achieve a decent return on equity. JP and Morgan Stanley both have offices outside of London for technology staff. Goldman doesn't. You want to get the same level of talent for less."

 

One former JPMorgan VP who ran a team in Glasgow says the Scottish office works well for the bank: "The trick is to find existing employees from the area who want to move home so that they're nearer to family, to hire locally and to work closely with the local universities."

 

Employees were not yet told about the move but many say they are okay with it if it pushes through. One of them said: "Compared to tech firms and other banks, Goldman Sachs is a good place to work. If they moved me to Birmingham I would go. As long as my salary stayed the same.”