Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the attention given to a Goldman Sachs’ employee’s scathing editorial about the company is “ridiculous.”
During his weekly appearance on WOR Radio this morning, Bloomberg said he had visited the Wall Street giant to express his support after an employee wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed that executives there referred to clients as “muppets” and put profits ahead of customers’ interests.
BLOOMBERG GIVES GOLDMAN SACHS PEP TALK
Bloomberg says people should keep in mind that most of the company’s clients are sophisticated corporations and financial institutions.
Bloomberg says it’s his job to support companies that provide a tax base for the city and employ its residents. He got his start on Wall Street.
“I just wanted to say to the people at Goldman, look, I’ve never worked at Goldman. But there’s an awful lot of people there. They work very hard. They live in this city and we want to have more companies come and locate here.”
London banker Greg Smith launched his dramatic public resignation Wednesday. The article has been widely circulated online.
Bloomberg also indicated that he didn’t think Smith should have bashed the firm on his way out.
“I thought a nasty letter from an employee. You know, you go to work for a company, it seems to me they have an obligation to never diss you. They can part company with you. But they should never do that. Nor should an employee ever walk away after being there for so long. You walk away from your friends and you walk away from your employer, who took a risk on you.”
However, he does think another writer had a better take on Goldman.
“Bloomberg View, the editorial part of Bloomberg, wrote something which I had nothing to do with. When I read it I thought the guy who wrote it had it exactly right,” the mayor said. “He said, ‘Surprise it’s not the Make-a-Wish Foundation.’ They’re a company that’s here to make money. That’s what they do.”
With AP