Goldman Sachs is laying off as many as 3,200 employees this week

At Goldman Sachs, the New Year is starting with thousands of job cuts.

One of Wall Street's biggest banks plans to lay off up to 3,200 employees this week, as it faces a challenging economy, a downturn in investment banking, and struggles in retail banking.

It is one of the biggest rounds of layoffs at Goldman since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

Goldman, like many other investment banks, has seen its profits take a hit as markets have tumbled since last year because of aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

The downturn has led to sharp declines in the number of deals and stock listings, as well as trading activity. Goldman has also struggled to gain much traction in consumer banking despite hefty investments.

"Wall Street is still Wall Street, and that means a very intensive environment, making money for their customers and the firm, having high intensity and adjusting on a dime as conditions change," says Mike Mayo, an analyst with Wells Fargo who has covered commercial banks for decades.