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11:23 AM
Justin Grant
Justin Grant
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Goldman Gets Gangster with Tokyo Employees

Executives who parachuted in to give fearful employees a pep talk also conveyed a stern warning to its Tokyo staff, CNBC said. Don't leave Tokyo and don't leave Japan. If you do, don't expect to keep your job, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

For someone building a career in finance, it's no secret that you can't have a better company on your resume than Goldman Sachs. One of their former vice presidents told me recently that even though they underpay you to a degree - bonuses not withstanding - the firm more than makes up for it by what they add to your CV.

As someone on the outside looking in, I've always respected the Goldman mystique. I've always viewed them as the New York Yankees, or even the Cosa Nostra of finance. But if you work for Goldman, apparently you better be careful about what you wish for. Because if a CNBC report has any validity to it, this firm has some mob-like tendencies.

This morning, CNBC reported that Goldman sent a few executives to Japan last week to calm ex-pat employees who work in the Tokyo office. Because like most people in the earthquake-stricken nation, Goldman's Tokyo-based workers are grappling with the fear of radiation exposure.

Yet those executives who parachuted in to give fearful employees a pep talk also conveyed a stern warning to its Tokyo staff, CNBC said. Don't leave Tokyo and don't leave Japan. If you do, don't expect to keep your job, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

From CNBC:

Employees at the investment bank's Japan offices are worried about radiation levels affecting their families, the person said. Many were asking if they could temporarily relocate out of the country or perhaps move to a location in southern Japan, farther away from troubled nuclear power plants. They were told that they should not leave Tokyo, according to the person.

Several meetings were held last week between senior Goldman executives and Tokyo-based employees. At least one meeting was held in a large conference room on one of the five floors of the Mori Tower in Tokyo, which houses Goldman's offices in Japan. Senior executives attending the meeting included Michael Evans, the firm's head of emerging markets and Asia chairman, and Ed Forst, the co-head of Goldman's investment management division. Lloyd Blankfein was testifying in the insider-trading case against Raj Rajaratnam last week.

"The message was clear: no one is to leave. If you do leave, you can't come back and expect to still work for Goldman," the person said.

As the Senior Editor of Advanced Trading, Justin Grant plays a key role in steering the magazine's coverage of the latest issues affecting the buy-side trading community. Since joining Advanced Trading in 2010, Grant's news analysis has touched on everything from the latest ... View Full Bio
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