As anticipated earlier, Goldman Sachs will begin culling up over 3,000 of its staff across the firm from Wednesday, as the firm prepares to tackle economic headwinds.

In December, Chief Executive David Solomon urgently sought to scale up the bank's profitability and hinted at taking a drastic step to reduce headcount.

A Reuters report based on information sourced from two insiders, however, said Goldman Sachs's top brass remained tight-lipped over the move.

According to the report, over 3,000 headcounts out of its total 49,000 global workforces would be reduced, one of the sources said, but the final number is yet to be determined.

Reports put the headcount to over 3,200.

The layoffs are likely to affect most major divisions of the banks though the investment banking division would be most affected, a source said.

Institutional banks have borne the brunt of a major slowdown as a result of volatile global financial markets. Investment banking fees have tumbled 35 per cent in the year to date, according to Refinitiv data.

Reports suggested that pressure is mounting on Goldman to ramp up margins because Solomon is trying to improve the bank’s stock market valuation.

It has been outmaneuvered by peers such as Morgan Stanley for years.

Goldman Sachs' loss-making consumer business is expected to face the heat after it scaled back plans for its direct-to-consumer unit Marcus.