Mass redundancies, spending review beckons for Wall Street giant
Cuts to all major divisions expected, globally
Restructuring in Asian wealth unit kicks off Wednesday39;s layoffs

NEW YORKLONDONHONG KONG, Jan 12 Reuters Goldman Sachs began laying off staff on Wednesday in a sweeping costcutting drive, with around a third of those affected coming from the investment banking and global markets division, a source familiar with the matter said.

The longexpected jobs cull at the Wall Street titan is expected to represent the biggest contraction in headcount since the financial crisis. It is likely to affect most of the bank39;s major divisions, with its investment banking arm facing the deepest cuts, a source told Reuters this month.

Just over 3,000 employees will be let go, the source, who could not be named, said on Monday. A separate source confirmed on Wednesday that cuts had started.

We know this is a difficult time for people leaving the firm, a Goldman Sachs statement on Wednesday said.

We39;re grateful for all our peoples contributions, and we39;re providing support to ease their transitions. Our focus now is to appropriately size the firm for the opportunities ahead of us in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

The cuts are part of broader reductions across the banking industry as a possible global recession looms. At least 5,000 people are in the process of being cut from various banks. In addition to the 3,000 from Goldman, Morgan Stanley has cut about…