Goldman May Force More to Donate to Charity

As Goldman Sachs prepares to lavish spectacular bonuses on employees this month—based on record profits of about $12 billion for 2009—the investment bank is mulling a face-saving program that would require more employees to donate to charity. Goldman already has such a program, which targets about 400 top-earners. But the expanded plan would be more in line with that of the erstwhile Bear Stearns, which required upwards of 1,000 workers to be generous with 4% of their take.

With average bonuses for 2009 expected to be around $600,000 per employee, the New York Times reports, a program of Bear Stearns-like scope would mean hundred of millions of dollars going to charity. While Goldman is still just considering the charity drive, it has also taken other measures to curb outrage from the public and shareholders alike: That $600,000 number would have been closer to $700,000 if the company hadn’t scaled back compensation.
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