An executive director at US investment giant Goldman Sachs on Wednesday resigned publicly by way of a contemptuous opinion piece in the New York Times, saying the work environment had become “toxic and destructive” at the bank.
Greg Smith’s parting shocker accused Goldman in the paper of losing touch with its moral compass and being ruled by a greed infested corporate culture where “clients continue to be sidelined” while the bank just “thinks about making money.”
The head of the firm’s US equity derivatives business in Europe, added in the NY Times column: “Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “Muppets,” sometimes over internal e-mail. I mean come on. Integrity? It is eroding.”
Smith’s opinion letter was entitled “Why I am leaving Goldman Sachs” and concluded, saying that he resigned on Wednesday after a dozen years with the firm.
CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, told employees that Smith may have had a grudge against the company, while Goldman Sachs responded to the accusations in a statement, saying: We disagree with the views expressed, which we don’t think reflect the way we run our business.”
