According to a CNBC report, Goldman Sachs is planning to layoff up to 8% of its workforce, or roughly 4,000 employees, as it prepares to confront a harsher economic environment next year.

According to sources familiar with the matter the layoffs will likely come in January, and will affect every division of the bank. That will be ahead of an upcoming shareholder conference where the bank will present its performance targets. Some have speculated that because the bank traditionally pays out its bonuses in January, it may have scheduled the layoffs so as to conserve bonus dollars for the remaining employees.

After two boom years of deals and hiring, the economic environment is now forcing Wal Street to prepare for a much lower revenue environment. In September, Goldman became the first firm to begin to cut jobs when it made a shallow culling of its workforce which released a few hundred employees. Citigroup and Barclays followed on with a similar set of cuts, and last week, Morgan Stanley let go about 1600 employees.

Wall Street recruiter Mike Karp said, “Many firms will have to go back to the drawing board and right-size their organizations, it’s not just Goldman. Firms over-hired, and now they will have to over-fire, too.”

As of September 30th, Goldman had 49,100 employees, which was an increase of 14% over the previous year.

However Goldman CEO David Solomon said at a conference for financial firms last week that it was time for Goldman to reign in expenses.

He noted, “We continue to see headwinds on our expense lines, particularly in the near term. We’ve set in motion certain expense mitigation plans, but it will take some time to realize the benefits. Ultimately, we will remain nimble and we will size the firm to reflect the opportunity set.”