Goldman Sachs CEO Says Entry-Level Hiring May Contract Slightly Amid AI Shifts

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the bank is "still going to hire a lot of people out of school."

During an interview with Bloomberg's "Odd Lots" podcast, released on Thursday, Solomon said the firm's hiring of recent graduates could "contract a little" over the next three years. He added that the bank expects to continue hiring thousands of interns and recent graduates annually.

"You're going to see nuanced changes that probably to some degree reduce the number of people that we start with over the next few years, but probably not what you and I would call dramatically," he said. "We're still going to hire a lot of people out of school."

This year, Goldman is bringing on an estimated 2,400 to 2,500 interns, Solomon said. He added that the firm has a similar number of permanent new hires starting in July, a level roughly in line with pre-COVID figures but below the more than 3,000 new hires recorded in 2021.

Asked how the composition of new hires has changed since the period before widespread availability of tools such as ChatGPT, Solomon described "subtle, subtle changes." He noted that the firm had already increased its proportion of engineering talent over the past decade and indicated that further adjustments to the hiring mix are likely as coding capabilities evolve.

The comments come as concerns about AI's impact on jobs spark mixed responses across industries. In Silicon Valley, some technology executives have warned of potential reductions in entry-level positions. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has discussed possible effects on junior roles. In contrast, other business leaders have described more limited evidence of immediate workforce changes. Apollo's chief economist Torsten Sløk has stated there is "zero evidence" that AI is driving layoffs, while Uber COO Andrew Macdonald has noted challenges in justifying current levels of spending on automation.

The larger operational question, Solomon said during the podcast, involves how to develop skills among younger employees when AI systems can generate outputs that previously required extended manual effort. He described his own early career experience, when obtaining stock price data involved reviewing microfiche records, transcribing figures from The Wall Street Journal, plotting points on graph paper, and performing calculations by hand. That process, he said, built certain analytical habits.

"Now, if you ask for it, you get it instantaneously," he said. "Has your brain really absorbed what's actually happening?"

Goldman Sachs must therefore adjust its training approaches, Solomon said. He recommended that new employees continue to prioritize direct communication, stating that "a telephone call to someone is 10 times more valuable than a text or an email."

Goldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The firm has maintained hiring volumes for interns and analysts near historical averages outside the 2021 peak period. Solomon's remarks focused on incremental adjustments to role composition rather than broad reductions in total headcount for entry-level cohorts. Industry observers continue to track how financial institutions integrate new software tools into existing workflows while preserving core functions in research, client coverage, and risk management.