Goldman Sachs set to begin a third round of job cuts

Goldman Sachs is set to axe a further 98 employees in its third round of layoffs this year after its total profit was down 60% in the first quarter. The bank has been described as being stuck in a 'lost decade' while its stock continues to decrease in value, falling 17.8% this year alone. The cuts, expected across trading roles and currencies and commodities desks, will begin in July and continue into October.

The pain keeps coming at Goldman Sachs.

Lloyd Blankfein’s bank will ax another 98 employees in its third round of layoffs this year, according to a filing with the New York Department of Labor.

The layoffs were announced about a month after the bank made deeper-than-expected cuts to its ranks of traders this year, decimating its bonds, interest rates, currencies and commodities desks.

The cuts are expected to begin July 17 and go through October 29, according to the state filing.

Goldman, long Wall Street’s most-envied bank, has had a tough year. Total profit was down 60 percent during the first quarter, one of the worst periods since the bank went public in 1999. The bond, currency and commodity trading desks — long a powerhouse for the investment bank — saw a 47 percent drop in annual revenue.

The bank has announced that it’s laying off more than 350 employees from its global staff, which numbered 36,800 at the end of last year, according to regulatory and financial documents.

Wall Street hasn’t been kind to Goldman this year.

One outspoken bank analyst said that Blankfein was responsible for a “lost decade” at the bank and called for an overall change to the company’s business.

“It is not difficult to understand what happened to Goldman Sachs in the past decade,” Dick Bove wrote in an April note. “The industry it services was dramatically restructured. The company was not.”

The stock fell 21 cents on Wednesday, to $148.14. This year, it’s down 17.8 percent.