Goldman CEO Warns NYC Must ‘Keep Itself Attractive’ to Workers

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon had a word of warning for New York, telling the city’s leadership to be mindful of the business environment or risk more companies sending workers elsewhere.

“New York has to be aware that there are good choices, and it’s got to keep itself attractive,” Solomon said in comments released Tuesday from a Financial Times conference. “Incentives matter, taxes matter, cost of living matters.”

New York was the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the U.S. last year, resulting in an extended shutdown that persuaded some the city’s wealthiest residents to decamp to other destinations. More recently, a push to raise taxes on the rich has been a source of consternation for those whose incomes get a boost off the city’s standing as a premier global financial hub.

Solomon’s comments come as the city prepares for Eric Adams to take over as mayor at the start of January. Adams ran a campaign that included promises to make the city more business friendly, and said in a tweet earlier this month that New York would become “the center of the cryptocurrency industry.”

Solomon, 59, has been championing a more dispersed model for his workforce, expanding in satellite cities away from central hubs around the world. That’s resulted in the New York-based firm boosting its presence in more tax-friendly states, including Texas and Florida.

Solomon said New York City in no danger of dying off, but he said it can’t take its standing for granted, pointing to the decline of Detroit in the last 50 years. 

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