Citigroup to axe 20,000 jobs in two years
Citigroup will cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years, its Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said on Friday, after the bank reported a US$1.8 billion loss for the fourth quarter. The lender, which currently has 239,000 employees worldwide, will reduce that headcount by 20,000 as part of a sweeping reorganisation, Mason told reporters. Citi also expects to shed a further 40,000 jobs when it lists its Mexican consumer unit Banamex in an initial public offering. It ultimately aims to reach a staffing level of 180,000 employees, Mason said. Shares in the bank were last up 3.3 percent in morning trading on Friday after CEO Jane Fraser described 2024 as a "turning point year" for the lender. Job cuts are "tough on morale," Mason said. But he added that the reduction will not prevent revenue growth and said reorganisation efforts will be done by the end of the first quarter. Citi reported the loss due to US$3.8 billion in charges disclosed in a filing on Wednesday that included reorganisation expenses, a reserve build related to currency devaluations and instability in Argentina and Russia and a US$1.7 billion payment to replenish deposit insurance fund FDIC. The bank expects to report between US$700 million and US$1 billion in charges this year related to severance costs and the reorganisation. Fraser has rolled out a multi-year effort at the third-largest US lender by assets to cut bureaucracy, increase profits and boost a stock that has lagged peers. "Citigroup's earnings looked awful with a big loss of US$1.8 billion, but the bank's underlying business showed resilience. The loss was largely due to exceptional items, as well as a big increase in reserves for credit losses," said Octavio Marenzi, CEO at management consultancy firm Opimas. Rivals JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America on Friday reported lower quarterly profits, while Wells Fargo outperformed on cost cuts. (Reuters)