Goldman Had 600 Cash Equity Traders In 2000; It Now Has 2

Zerohedge reports:

For the dramatic impact of technology, and specifically trade automation from algo, quant and robotic trading on today's capital markets, look no further than Goldman's cash equities trading floor at the firm's headquarters which, according to the MIT Tech Review, employed 600 traders its height back in 2000, buying and selling stock on the orders of the investment bank’s large clients. Today there are just two equity traders left.

Complex trading algorithms, some with machine-learning capabilities, first replaced trades where the price of what’s being sold was easy to determine on the market, including the stocks traded by Goldman’s old 600.

Imagine that.