Goldman is trying to cut down costs in the firm. One approach towards its large cost-cutting effort is through laying off employees. Goldman decided to lay off the Managing Directors of the firm, which have a base salary of $500,000, without bonuses (which can go up to millions).
Looking at this from a general ethical point of view, it is obvious that laying off employees is ethically wrong. By laying off employees, Goldman is forcing highly skilled employees into unemployment. 
However, looking at this from the firm’s point of view, it is definitely better to lay off employees before allowing the firm as a whole to go bankrupt.
Nevertheless, laying off employees may lead to negative consequences within the firm. For instance, the smaller number of employees may face difficulties in efficiently getting the job done.
This is why the firm has to evaluate each employee’s profile very carefully and make sure that they are not laying off their best employees.
Also, the firm might have to come up with a revised strategy for the division of the workload amongst the employees in order to make sure that even with the smaller number of employees, the firm is still operating at its most efficient level.
MLA:
Craig, Susanne. “Goldman Names Managing Directors – NYTimes.com.” Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds – DealBook – NYTimes.com. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. <http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/goldman-names-managing-directors/?ref=business>.