Citigroup to cut 52,000 more jobs
Half the cuts will come through layoffs, with the other half coming through sales of individual business units, a company spokeswoman says.
Reporting from New York — Citigroup Inc. plans to eliminate more than 50,000 jobs and drastically reduce expenses as the financial giant seeks to rebound from billions of dollars in losses stemming from the housing market collapse and weakening economy.
In a "town hall" presentation to employees this morning, the New York-based company said it planned to pare its worldwide workforce to fewer than 300,000 people from roughly 352,000 at the end of the third quarter.
About half the cuts will come through layoffs, with the other half coming through sales of individual business units, according to a Citigroup spokeswoman.
This is Citigroup's second big layoff announcement. The company previously said it was lopping off about 22,000 jobs.
Altogether, the company is seeking to reduce expenses by 20% from its peak this year.
In a memo to employees after the meeting, Vikram Pandit, Citigroup's chief executive, referred in passing to the job cutbacks.
"The coming year could be a difficult one for our clients and customers," Pandit wrote. "Citi needs you to maintain your focus on helping them succeed because now is the time when lasting loyalty is earned."
The announcement did nothing to help Citigroup's faltering stock price, which fell to the single digits last week. As of 8:45 a.m. Pacific time, the shares were down 49 cents, or 5.2%, to $9.03.
Like other big financial institutions, Citigroup has been humbled by brutal losses that began with the subprime-mortgage meltdown.
Companies across Wall Street are eliminating thousands of jobs.
Top executives at Citigroup and other Wall Street firms also are under pressure to forgo millions in annual bonuses after the disclosure Sunday that the top brass at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will give up bonuses this year.
Citigroup's board will make decisions about executive bonuses after the end of the year, the spokeswoman said.
