Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17, 2023.
Adam Galica | CNBC
citi group said it was cutting 10% of its workforce in a bid to help boost the troubled bank's results and share price.
About 20,000 employees will be laid off in the “medium term,” New York-based Citigroup said Friday in a slide presentation tied to fourth-quarter earnings. While it was not immediately clear how long that is, the bank has previously used that term to indicate a period of three to five years.
Citigroup had approximately 200,000 workers at the end of 2023, excluding Mexican operations that are in the process of being spun off, according to the filing.
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser announced in September a profound overhaul of the third-largest US bank by assets. The company has lagged its peers since the 2008 financial crisis as Fraser's predecessors failed to control expenses and is the lowest valued among the six largest U.S. banks.
In November, CNBC reported that managers and consultants involved in the effort (known internally by the code name “Project Bora Bora”) discussed 10% job cuts at several major companies.
Next round of cuts
Since then, the company has executed several waves of layoffs, starting with the bank's top layers, with another round of cuts scheduled for Jan. 22, according to a person familiar with the matter. A Citigroup spokeswoman declined to comment.
US banks have been cutting jobs throughout last year, led by Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, to reduce costs amid stagnant revenues. Citigroup had been a notable outlier, maintaining staff levels at around 240,000 throughout 2023, including its operations in Mexico.
Citigroup said Friday it booked a $780 million charge in the fourth quarter tied to the Fraser restructuring project, and could record another $1 billion in severance and other expenses in 2024. The moves could help cut up to 2,500 millions of dollars in costs over time, the bank said.
Permanent vacation
In a footnote to its filing, Citigroup said the 20,000 job cuts could be “slightly smaller” if it decides to use internal resources instead of outsourcing functions.
With the prospect of thousands more job cuts in the coming years, some Citigroup employees are using their vacation or mental health leave to look for their next position, said the person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing matters. of personal. .
“People stare aggressively,” the person said. “I know senior vice presidents who are on vacation now, but they will never come back.”
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