• The Women's Tennis Association announced maternity benefits for its players.
• The benefits include up to 12 months of paid maternity leave.
• Stars like Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka have pushed for maternity benefits for athletes.

Women's tennis players are now eligible for paid maternal leave, marking a historic moment in the sport's history.

The Women's Tennis Association announced the Maternity Fund Program on Thursday, saying Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will support the initiative. Eligible WTA players can receive up to 12 months of paid maternity leave.

Victoria Azarenka, a WTA Players' Council Representative and professional tennis player, said the program will help athletes navigate their careers and personal life.

"This marks the beginning of a meaningful shift in how we support women in tennis, making it easier for athletes to pursue both their careers and their aspirations of starting a family," she said in a statement. "Ensuring that programs like this exist has been a personal mission of mine, and I'm excited to see the lasting impact it will have for generations to come."

Navigating that balance can be difficult for tennis players who double as mothers, and some have spoken out about their experience returning to the game after having children.

Here's what they said.

• Parenting my teen wasn't hard until I realized I wasn't ready to let her go.
• I got weirdly clingy and was afraid I'd push her away.
• Refocusing on myself helped me look forward to the future and a new version of our relationship.

When my daughter was an adorably cheeky toddler, it seemed every older person I encountered told me, "Wait 'til she's a teen!" before sharing some teenager-related horror story.

I hated all the negativity and refused to believe that a difficult parent-teen connection was inevitable. I worked hard to maintain a healthy relationship, and at 17, my daughter rarely rolls her eyes at me. She still likes to hang out, has a kind boyfriend and an amazing group of friends, and is rocking high school.

I wasn't prepared for the realization that hit me as I waved goodnight to her boyfriend a couple of months ago; I no longer know her best. Instead of sharing her secrets with me, she shares them with him or her besties in the group chat. While she's living her best life, I am coming to terms with the fact that this amazing human is spreading her wings, and my job is to stand back, watch her soar, and be a steady, soft place if she needs to crash land.

I was surprised by my reaction to her growing independence

Having a graduate degree in psychology, I understood this was a normal, healthy part of adolescent individuation, the process that allows teens to fully develop their sense of self and become functioning adults. But nothing prepared me for the messiness of my own emotions. I was horrified to find myself peppering her with questions, barging in on her conversations, and feeling hurt when her dad knew something I didn't. My sadness had me holding on tighter when I was supposed to be letting go.

"The feeling of grief is sometimes surprising to people because they don't see it as grief," explained my neighbor Carla Corral, a licensed clinical psychologist whose oldest daughter is a sophomore in college. "We're not losing somebody, right, to death or illness or the abrupt end of a relationship, but it's grief."

I didn't like the way my grief had me inserting myself into my daughter's life. I felt needy, clingy, and decidedly not cool. I didn't want to push her away or make her feel she needed to care for my feelings. It was time to get hold of myself.

I had to change my behavior or risk pushing her away

I thought back to how exciting life was when I was her age and how eager and capable I felt. Shifting away from my current point of view as a concerned mom helped me see how smart, responsible, and prepared my daughter is. I also turned my attention back on myself and my dreams for the future. I grew up dancing, so I joined a tap class. It's great exercise and so much fun. Instead of gifts for Christmas, I gave my friends a breakfast or lunch date to prioritize connecting one-on-one.

I started journaling again to dump my worries on the page instead of on my daughter. This helped me see some of my concerns as ridiculous and others as important points to discuss before she leaves. I keep reminding myself my job as a parent is shifting, but it's not over. Making my life more about me again allowed those clingy behaviors to fade away, and when they occasionally pop up, I take a deep breath and focus on something I enjoy.

While I soak up the time I have with her — including family movie nights, a spring break trip to visit her top choice university, and long conversations while walking the dog — I'm building a list of things I want to do after she starts college, like visiting friends, volunteering for a local land trust and joining my husband for some of his work travel.

I remind myself I've loved every stage of being a mom, even with the challenges, and I trust I will enjoy parenting a young adult. The part of my job that involved driving her around and making sure her homework was turned in may be done, but I know there are wonderful times ahead for both of us, together and apart.

• In 2023, a breast cancer diagnosis reframed Low Seow Yee's perspective on life.
• She decided to quit her job at a government agency to open Hangout Laundry, a laundromat, in Singapore.
• Laundromats are often touted as a passive income business, but she's hosting parties and making laundry fun again.

When Low Seow Yee went for her routine yearly mammogram in March 2023, she wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary.

But a few weeks later, she received a letter requesting that she come in for a follow-up. A biopsy revealed that she had stage one breast cancer. The next few months passed by in a blur.

Her bosses at the government agency where she worked were empathetic and told her to take as much time as she needed. After two surgeries and over 15 sessions of radiation therapy, Low was cancer-free.

"It was on my first day back at work when I realized, 'Oh no, I really don't want to do this,'" Low, now 46, told Business Insider. She handed in her resignation the following week.

Her medical scare had reframed her perspective on life. She had always been working for people — first in the events and F&B industries early in her career, and then in a marketing role for a government agency — and she wanted to try something new.

"It occurred to me that if I keep on doing this, I don't know — I feel like maybe I'm missing out on some experiences in life," the mother of three said.

From federal employee to small-business owner

In December 2024, Low and her husband opened Hangout Laundry, a 24-hour self-service laundromat in Bedok, a neighborhood in the eastern region of Singapore.

Low was drawn to the idea of starting a laundromat because it was an evergreen business. She also wanted to avoid making laundry feel like a chore.

"The whole idea was that we really want people to kind of look forward to laundry day. It doesn't have to be stuffy or boring," she said.

The air-conditioned interiors are bright and inviting. There's free WiFi and a coffee machine, and tables and chairs are set up where customers can wait.

Low's intention was to create a comfortable space where people could relax or get work done while doing their laundry.

Prices for the washer range between 7 and 12 Singapore dollars, or about $5 and $9. The cost of using the dryer is S$1 every 5 minutes.

While researching the industry, Low said she noticed that laundromats were often touted as a passive income business, which meant owners were not always around to keep an eye on things.

Dirty folding tables, or even a hot and stuffy atmosphere can have a big impact on the customer experience, and she wanted to change that. "I wanted it to be a more social place," she said.

Trusting her gut

Hangout Laundry is tucked away in the corner on the ground floor of a public housing apartment block.

The biggest challenge has been marketing the laundromat since it doesn't receive a lot of foot traffic; the nearest subway station is about a 15-minute walk away.

Everything on the laundromat's website has been optimized for search engines, Low said. That, coupled with getting their regulars to leave reviews, has helped boost their visibility online.

But ultimately, it's the experience that will keep customers coming back — something they feel is enhanced through social interaction. That's why Low and her husband take turns coming in almost every day to get to know their customers and listen to feedback.

Low said trusting her gut also paid off. For instance, she was told it was a bad idea to have a coffee machine in the laundromat, but she went ahead with the idea anyway.

Hot drinks range in price from S$3.30 to S$4.90, and Low said coffee now accounts for 20% of the store's sales.

She added that there are people who come in just for a cup of coffee or to use the desks: "We highly encourage it. I also have kids who want to come and study. I say it's no problem if they just buy a drink."

The average cost of starting a self-service laundromat is not as hefty as many other businesses, Gary Tan, a general manager at Fresh Laundry, a distributor of commercial laundry machines in Singapore, told BI.

Fresh Laundry offers turnkey services to those who want to set up their own laundromats, with entry-level packages starting from S$130,000, he said.

"If we were to include all other miscellaneous licensing and costs that an investor needs to consider, he needs to set aside an estimate of about S$160,000," Tan said, adding that a typical laundromat would take about three years to break even.

Low preferred not to share how much she has invested in or earned from the laundromat.

Making laundry a social activity

In the spirit of making the laundromat a more social space, Low held a Valentine's Day-themed party in February.

"We had a couple of rounds of silly games like blindfolded clothes-folding contests," she said, adding that there were multiple DJs and a pop-up bar that night.

Entry tickets were S$20 with one free drink, but free entry was granted to anyone who came with a load of laundry to wash or dry.

Low's already brainstorming ideas for the laundromat's next event — possibly a "Dungeons and Dragons" night, she says — and for ways to improve the laundry experience.

"Some people want iced coffee, so we're putting in an ice machine. Some people want a library of sorts, so we're thinking about it," Low said.

It's not easy being a small-business owner, but she hopes that it can rub off on her kids, who often come in on weekends to help her out.

"I'm hopeful that my kids can also learn to be a bit more entrepreneurial," Low said. "It would be nice."

The Los Angeles Lakers have revealed the final injury status of both LeBron James and Luka Doncic for their game against the New York Knicks.

The veteran-led Nashville Predators will host the balanced scoring attack of the Seattle Kraken in a Western Conference matchup on Thursday.

Will Leitch, founder of once-cutting edge sports site Deadspin, made a "bold" prediction about the New York Yankees' chances in 2025.

Polling firm Gallup has tracked support for Israel and Palestinians for 25 years starting in 2001.

The layoffs that hit about 800 NOAA employees last week will hamstring the agency's fleet of hurricane research aircraft, experts warn.

Threat level: NOAA's aircraft have specialized equipment that the Air Force's Hurricane Hunters lack. Their flights during hurricane season are aimed at feeding data into computer models to improve forecast accuracy.

---

• The now-thinly staffed team of flight directors, engineers, scientists and mechanics means NOAA will struggle to maintain a 24-hour-a-day tempo of flying its modified Gulfstream jet and aging WP-3 research aircraft, said Josh Ripp, who was laid off as a flight engineer since he was a probationary employee.
• Ripp said the missing flights will translate into less accurate forecasts and greater risk for coastal residents who are used to having at least two to three days' warning of a hurricane's predicted landfall location.
• He told Axios in an interview that the agency is now either short one person or is at just the level of personnel needed to staff 24/7 flight operations, which has been the desired tempo during past seasons.

However, that assumes no one gets sick or has a family emergency and cannot crew a flight. NOAA, he said, is now "playing the odds that everyone there is going to be fine all season."

Zoom in: Two others associated with NOAA's hurricane research program confirmed the challenges the agency faces after the layoffs hit its Office of Marine and Aviation Operations in Lakeland, Fla.

• According to Andrew Hazelton, who was laid off from working on hurricane forecast models at the National Hurricane Center, the cuts may compromise forecast accuracy and ultimately cost lives.
• He said NOAA uses the information from the flights in two ways. One is to gauge the intensity and movement of a storm, since such data is immediately relayed to the Hurricane Center.
• The other is to use the specialized equipment — such as powerful, tail-mounted-Doppler radar — to gather data that's fed into hurricane forecast models to better anticipate a storm's movement and shifts in intensity.

Consistent NOAA and Air Force Reserve hurricane reconnaissance has helped lead to vast improvements in hurricane track forecasts in particular, with new gains made in intensity projections in recent years.

Between the lines: NOAA only has a minimum capacity of flight directors, positions that require years of training, according to one source familiar with staffing issues who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution if they are rehired.

• It missed out on gaining three who were in the hiring process when the Trump administration instituted a government-wide freeze, and then lost two to the layoffs, the source said.
• "This leaves the exact number for staffing four total WP-3 and G-IV crews," the source said. "It leaves no room for anyone to get sick or have a life event that precludes them from being able to fly."
• "It will, of course, also lead to burnout of the remaining flight directors," they said, noting that flight engineers are also at "critically low" levels of personnel.

Hazelton told Axios that NOAA is running the risk that a storm will approach the coast and that the agency won't be able to fly into and around it with its advanced capabilities.

• "I think that's a real risk that could happen if some of these moves aren't reversed," he said.

What they're saying: NOAA wouldn't comment specifically about the Hurricane Hunter staffing issue.

• "As per longstanding practice, we don't discuss internal personnel and management matters," the agency said in a statement to Axios.
• "NOAA remains dedicated to providing timely information, research and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation's environmental and economic resilience," the statement said. "We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission."

Go deeper:

DOGE moves to cancel NOAA leases on key weather buildings

Top weather, climate agency NOAA the latest layoff target

NOAA layoffs threaten weather, climate forecasts

DOGE plans for NOAA, FEMA could have big climate impacts

The Santa Fe County Sheriff is preparing to give an update into the cause of death investigation for Gene Hackman, 95, and his 63-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa.

SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded minutes after it launched from Texas Thursday.

The big picture: Debris from the rocket reached as far away as Philadelphia, and caused flight delays in several states, including Florida, FAA data show.

---

• It's the spacecraft's second consecutive test flight to end in destruction, after another such explosion nearly two months ago.

Driving the news: "During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost," SpaceX said in a post on X.

• The SpaceX team then activated on its pre-planned contingency responses, and said they'll review data from the flight test to better understand the cause.
• "As always, success comes from what we learn, and today's flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability," the post read.
• Representatives for SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Senate Democrats want to leave the issue of trans athletes playing in women's sports to state and local governments.

Why it matters: Democrats privately admit they need a sharper response to counter Republican attacks on their support for transgender rights, especially when it involves sports.

---

• In the Senate, their emerging strategy is to argue that one part of the issue is best left to the states, while acknowledging concerns about athletes gaining an unfair advantage.
• "There are basic issues of fairness here," said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) "There are really important issues that we should be discussing on the local level, within sports leagues and within conferences."

Between the lines: The Democratic messaging effort has been spearheaded by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), sources tell Axios.

• Baldwin, the first openly gay person elected to the Senate, faced a barrage of attacks on the topic in her 2024 reelection campaign.
• She feared Republicans were flooding the zone with their attacks without Democrats having a clear and consistent rebuttal.
• "Republicans in Washington are saying they know better than parents and local school districts," she said in a statement. "They are wrong. I trust parents, schools and local sports leagues to make these decisions for their children."

Zoom in: The issue was thrust into the public Thursday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who broke with progressives by saying transgender participation in sports was an "issue of fairness."

• "It's deeply unfair," Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, told Charlie Kirk on his inaugural podcast, "This Is Gavin Newsom."
• Senate Democrats this week blocked a bill that would have banned trans athletes from women's sports. Not a single Democrat voted to bring the bill to the floor.

What they are saying: Some Senate Democrats agreed with Newsom on the sports fairness issue, but they said to be careful that the overall conversation doesn't demonize transgender athletes. They also want to avoid federal overreach.

• "It's leading to more bullying. It's leading to more mental health issues as people are feeling targeted," Booker told Axios. "Yes, when it comes to sports leagues, they have to find a way to create fairness."
• Said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine): "I understand the concern. I have a daughter who was a high school athlete. Interestingly, when I asked her about this issue, she said, by all means, there should not be a federal ban."
• "Every state and every community is going to come to their own decision on it," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told Axios.

The bottom line: "Everyone deserves a level playing field, but the governing bodies — the parents, the coaches, the NCAA ... need to make those decisions," said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).

• "We let local schools make those kinds of decisions," said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) "There's no one set of facts. These are going to be pretty complicated situations."

• Humanoid robots will compete against humans in a half-marathon in Beijing.
• The event aims to showcase advancements in humanoid robotics and AI.
• Robots must be humanoid without wheels; both remote-controlled and autonomous entries are allowed.

Experienced runners will tell you it takes months to train for a half-marathon, but what if what you're racing against is literally made of steel?

On April 13, humanoid robots are set to compete in the first-ever half-marathon featuring both humans and humanoid robots racing against each other in Beijing. The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, which is hosting the race, announced details for the event on Tuesday.

Robots participating in the race will have a roughly three-and-a-half-hour cutoff time to complete the track, Li Quan, deputy head of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, said at a press conference. The humanoid robots will race against 12,000 human runners, with the top three finishers — human or robot — receiving prizes.

Li said participating robots can receive awards in three categories: race completion, best endurance, and most popular robot. The robots running in the race will run in a separate lane.

"We hope that this event will not only showcase achievements in the humanoid robotics industry but also spark discussions and deepen the public's understanding of robot capabilities, which will help accelerate industry development," Li said.

Humanoid robots are evolving rapidly and becoming a common topic of discussion in the tech world. Some companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW have partnered with humanoid robot companies to test their robots on factory lines. Last month, Texas-based humanoid robot make Apptronik announced a partnership with a supply chain company to have its humanoid robots eventually build themselves.

Robots entering the competition must be humanoid robots that do not use wheels, China's International Center for Science and Technology Innovation said in a release. Both remote-controlled and fully autonomous robots are eligible for entry.

Li said at the press conference that participating robot teams can change out their robot's batteries or change their robots out in a relay system. Each time a team changes out a robot, they will receive a ten-minute penalty for the race.

Registration for the event opens on March 11, and it is open to companies, research institutions, robot clubs, and universities around the world, the release said.

• SpaceX's Starship spun out of control and fell out of contact just as it reached space Thursday.
• Starship was supposed to deploy mock Starlink satellites and test its structural limits during reentry.
• The FAA grounded flights in southern Florida due to the risk of debris raining down from space.

SpaceX's Starship lost control and started spinning wildly just as it reached space on Thursday, causing major flight disruptions in Florida over the possibility of falling debris.

SpaceX lost contact with Starship and confirmed in a post on X that the spaceship exploded, using its classic euphemism: "a rapid unscheduled disassembly."

That means the ship will likely rain debris down on Earth along its pre-designated flight path. The Federal Aviation Administration closed airspace over southern Florida and issued a ground stop to airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach.

According to the FAA website, the incident led to delays at Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and even Philadelphia and Newark airports

Starship was flying well until about 20 seconds before it was supposed to cut off its engines, which is a major milestone it has passed on multiple flights and is basically the last step of getting itself into space.

That's when some of the ship's engines suddenly went out early, Huot said, and then it began to spin.

"We have some more to learn about this vehicle," Dan Huot, a SpaceX webcast host, said on the company's livestream of the flight.

This is the second Starship flight in a row to explode as it climbed to space, taking Elon Musk's biggest ambitions another step back.

Eric Berger, a journalist who has written two books about the rocket company, called the incident "a serious setback for SpaceX."

Starship's second space-debris incident

SpaceX said that it "immediately began coordination with safety officials" after the ship lost contact.

The incident comes just a month after a Starship exploded and rained down huge chunks of debris in the Caribbean, causing the FAA to divert aircraft in the area and triggering an investigation.

"We've got some practice at this now," Huot said. "We've got a lot of measures in place like debris-response areas where we coordinate very closely with air-traffic control. We have a lot of measures put before we ever launch a rocket to make sure that we're keeping the public safe. Those worked last time and they're actively in work right now."

After the January flight, SpaceX made upgrades to avoid the fuel leaks and fire in the ship's "attic area" which it pinpointed as the cause of the explosion. The company got reapproval from the FAA and flew again Thursday, only to lose Starship again.

"We will review the data from today's flight test to better understand root cause," SpaceX said in its X post.

The future of SpaceX and the space industry at large is on the line.

Starship's many successes

The Starship-Super Heavy launch system — consisting of the lower-stage Super Heavy booster and upper-stage Starship rocket — promises to be the largest, most powerful, and first-ever fully reusable orbital rocket on Earth.

Its prowess could help cut the cost of spaceflight by an order of magnitude, but not anytime soon if SpaceX can't keep Starship in one piece.

Starship has previously flown to space successfully, landed in the ocean with its engines firing, and seen its Super Heavy booster return to Earth and lower itself into a pair of chopstick-like arms on a landing tower.

On Thursday's flight, just a few minutes before Starship's demise, the booster landed flawlessly again.

As the booster slowed itself from supersonic speed, a thunder-like sonic boom sounded across the Texas coastal plain.

On the livestream shortly before launch, the SpaceX communications manager Chris Gebhardt said those booms are like "a spaceship telling everybody it wants to be reused."

Starship, it seems, isn't making the same declaration.

SpaceX was going to test Starship's limits on the way back

The rocket's successes so far have been promising for SpaceX's plans to recover and reuse both Starship and the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX had hoped Thursday's flight would take things a step further.

The flight had two primary goals: to deploy its first payload of mock Starlink satellites in space and to run experiments in Starship's reentry and descent to Earth. It never got the chance.

The flight was intended to test the limits of Starship's structure on its return to Earth, with some of its protective tiles removed from vulnerable areas for stress testing. By contrast, for the ascent to space, SpaceX had made upgrades to fortify Starship.

Musk founded the company in 2002 with the goal of bringing humans to Mars. Starship is the vehicle that's supposed to make that happen.

Musk has said that, in addition to hauling astronauts and materials to the moon and conducting rapid point-to-point transport on Earth, Starship could carry 1 million people to Mars, along with all the necessary cargo for them to build a city there.

• Costco delivered strong quarterly revenue driven by increased store visits but missed profit expectations.
• CEO Ron Vachris said the company would work to minimize any cost increases from tariffs.
• The company added 1 million new paid memberships and increased renewals to 93% in the US and Canada.

Costco delivered strong quarterly revenue as shoppers turned to the wholesale club to deliver value in the face of high prices elsewhere.

However, the results missed analyst expectations for earnings per share and Costco stock fell by about 1.5% in after-hours trading.

The company reported net sales of more than $62.5 billion for the quarter, up 9.1% from $57.3 billion for the same period last year, driven mostly by increased visits.

During the earnings call Thursday, CEO Ron Vachris said that while it was difficult to predict the impact of tariffs, the company would work to minimize any cost increases for customers. He added that less than one-sixth of Costco products sold in the US are imported from China, Mexico, and Canada.

CFO Gary Millerchip said uncertainty around tariffs led the company to buy additional inventory, leading to increased supply chain costs in the quarter.

Foot traffic data found 2025 was off to a strong start for Costco, with visits up 7.7% — more than double the increase for Walmart and Target.

The company added 1 million new paid memberships, nudging its renewal rate up to 93% in the US and Canada.

Web and app sales and usage also ticked up during its fiscal second quarter, and the company said it logged 43 million visits to its new warehouse inventory tool.

In its call with analysts, Costco leadership didn't field any questions about its DEI stance following its emphatic defense of its diversity and inclusion policies and the resulting scrutiny from a group of Republican attorneys general.

Looking ahead, the company plans to open 12 more US locations, including its 900th warehouse next week, plus two in Canada, and four in other international markets.

Inter Miami will face off against Cavalier FC in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 on Thursday night at Chase Stadium.

The vehicle, intended for a controlled descent into the Indian Ocean, instead fell into a spin, and SpaceX lost contact.

President Trump has looked to resume the "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran he started during his first administration.

The State Department is offering up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of the former Olympian.

Arno Michaelis is a former white nationalist skinhead, lead singer of the neo-Nazi metal band Centurion, and member of Hammerskin Nation, one of the most violent white supremacist gangs in the US.

From 1987 to 1994, Michaelis played a central role in spreading neo-Nazi ideology through music, street violence, and recruitment efforts across the United States and beyond. His band sold over 20,000 copies of its white supremacist albums within six months.

Michaelis provides a rare look inside the world of violent extremism, detailing how white nationalist groups recruit young men, fund their operations, and use propaganda to radicalize followers. He describes the brutality of life inside the movement, the constant state of fear and paranoia, and how his involvement led to addiction, crime, and self-destruction.

After leaving the movement, Michaelis became an anti-hate activist, speaker, and author. He works with Parents for Peace to deradicalize extremists, exposing the tactics used by white nationalist groups and guiding individuals away from the influence of extremism through prevention. He is the author of "My Life After Hate" and "The Gift of Our Wounds," which was cowritten with Pardeep Singh Kaleka, whose father was killed in the Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting.

If you are concerned about someone's extreme beliefs or behaviors, Parents for Peace has a free and confidential helpline at 844-49-PEACE (844-497-3223) or email at [email protected].

If you or someone you know is dealing with substance misuse or mental illness, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) for 24/7, free, confidential treatment referral and information.

For more:

Instagram: @ArnoMichaelis

Parents for Peace: www.parents4peace.org

Books: https://www.parents4peace.org/our-team/arno-michaelis/

• Goldman Sachs has a grand plan to thin its ranks and cuts costs.
• The plan is codenamed "Project Voyage," Business Insider has learned.
• See what Project Voyage entails — and who stands to be impacted.

Goldman Sachs has a grand plan to thin its ranks and cut costs — and it's codenamed "Project Voyage."

CEO David Solomon has tasked staff with providing the bank with lists of executives who could help save the company money through layoffs or relocations, Business Insider has learned. The plan, which has been nicknamed "Project Voyage," kicked off in the fourth quarter of 2024 and is expected to be rolled out over a number of years, according to a former Goldman employee, who was not authorized to speak to the press and asked to remain anonymous.

The initiative will be rolled out firmwide, affecting divisions including global banking and markets, asset and wealth management, engineering, operations, communications, marketing, and back-office functions, this person said.

A Goldman spokeswoman pointed BI to comments Solomon made in January about "a three-year program" to better manage the bank's expenses.

"As discussed at length on our fourth-quarter earnings call, we're focused on operating the firm effectively and prudently over the long term, managing our business to meet the needs of our clients and re-investing for growth," a Goldman spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Who could be impacted

Every year, Goldman Sachs cuts as many as 5% of its bottom performers through a process known internally as the Strategic Resource Assessment, or SRA. Employees who routinely fail to comply with Goldman's five-day-per-week office attendance policy, for example, could be vulnerable to a cut through the SRA —particularly if they're found to be underperforming in their job.

This year's SRA, however, will be informed to some degree by "Project Voyage," the ex-Goldman insider said.

The bank's vice presidents — a title that sits between associate and managing directors — will be eyed for cuts in part because Project Voyage has identified this group as too large and costly. As BI reported on Wednesday, Goldman's VP ranks have become so bloated that its VPs have been increasingly reporting to other VPs rather than managing directors. Compensation for client-facing VPs can reach $1 million, including base salary and bonuses, the former employee estimated.

In addition to thinning out bloated parts of the organizational chart, Project Voyage will pinpoint employees who could help save the company money by relocating from Goldman's New York City headquarters, located in lower Manhattan, to lower-cost offices such as Dallas, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah, according to people familiar with the program.

The plan also calls for jobs lost through the SRA to be backfilled in lower-cost locations rather than New York, this person said.

Goldman divisional heads are compiling their lists of cuts and relocations through their chief operating teams. On Wall Street, divisional COOs tend to oversee the administrative functions for their teams.

Goldman's office in Dallas is on track to increase from its current headcount of about 4,600 employees to 5,000 by the time it opens a $500 million state-of-the-art campus in 2028. The city's mayor previously authorized $18 million in tax incentives for the firm if it meets that target. The incentives are valid through the end of 2028.

Reed Alexander is a correspondent at Business Insider covering Goldman Sachs and Wall Street banks. He can be reached via email at [email protected], or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.