As Goldman Sachs shrinks, its elite inner circle will also be getting smaller.

The Wall Street firm is expected to name fewer than 100 new partners this fall, one of the smallest classes in recent years, according to people briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak on the record.

In an effort to reward its top consistent producers, Goldman spends months vetting potential partners every two years.

Those selected are typically rewarded lavishly and have an inside track to top jobs at the firm. In 2010, 110 new partners were named.

But this year Goldman will be more selective about the select. The firm has cut its head count over the last year by more than 8 percent, to 32,400 employees, to cope with reduced revenue amid difficult markets and new regulations.

Just last week Goldman laid off another 50 employees — some of them highly paid managing directors.

The size of the partnership typically shrinks in concert with the size of the staff, which means that the new members may be as few as or even fewer than those in the class of 2008, when just 94 new partners were named during the height of the financial crisis.

A Goldman spokesman declined to comment on Wednesday.

Financial companies like Goldman have been cutting back for more than a year, eliminating jobs and getting out of certain businesses.

More Top Stories

Even Fed May Not Be Able to Tame Volatile Trading

Boeing to Airbus: We've Got You Boxed and Bracketed

Chrysler Agrees to Recall 2.7 Million Jeeps

Icahn Proposes Tender for 1.1 Billion Dell Shares

G8 Welcomes Japan's Economic Policies, Abe Says

More Top Stories