Amid Crumbling Fintech Landscape, Traditional Firms Are Hiring Big

It’s the same story for fintechs across the industry: firms that were posting massive revenue and making big plans for expansion just six months ago are now shedding employees at a startling rate. Not only are white-hot companies like Coinbase and Klarna laying off large portions of their workforce, but employee benefits like stock options are not the draw for new hires that they once were.

For industry stalwarts that predate the fintech revolution, though, things are looking sunnier than ever. These days, not only are most finance industry jobs to be found at firms like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, but these companies are offering more generous packages to new hires than their competitors. Recent job postings by both of these firms represent unmatched starting salaries in the industry, and to fuel planned global expansions, Goldman and JPMorgan are aggressively wooing the best talent that can be found.

How is it that the major players are able to weather the financial storm that appears to be sinking so many newer, flashier companies? For one thing, they can afford to lose more in the short term; Sanoke Viswanathan, JPMorgan’s Chief Executive Officer in their International Consumer division, announced last month that the company will likely lose $1 billion in the current downturn before breaking even again as soon as 2027. That’s the kind of time and cash that smaller firms just don’t have at their disposal.