Red flags | Companies who cut jobs for 'efficiency' underperforming market rivals, Goldman finds

Companies announcing job cuts are no longer seeing the share price boost that once followed workforce reductions, with markets increasingly skeptical of management explanations.

Goldman Sachs analysis shows that corporates have underperformed the broader market by 2% following layoff announcements, even when executives frame the decisions around productivity improvements or cost discipline. That marks a reversal from earlier periods, when such disclosures were often rewarded by investors.