We’ve all fantasized about quitting our jobs in dramatic fashion, but Greg Smith may be the first person to ever do it via an op-ed in the New York Times. Smith left his job as an executive director and derivatives trader at Goldman Sachs in March, but didn’t go quietly. Instead, he wrote a scathing review of the culture at his former firm titled, “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs.” In it, he describes an atmosphere in which employees were encouraged to rip off and mislead clients (whom he claims were derogatorily referred to as “muppets”) as long as it meant higher profits for Goldman. Though the piece was criticized by many in the financial press as inflammatory and evidence of naiveté on Smith’s part, the episode was another in a series of black marks the company has suffered over the past couple of years.
