Citigroup outlines layoff process, reassignments in overhaul

Employees whose jobs are eliminated may be eligible to apply for other positions.

Citigroup also convened a meeting of its managing directors on Wednesday. Image source: Reuters

Citigroup managers are reviewing staff rosters to determine by November who will stay in place, be reassigned or laid off during its biggest reorganization in decades, according to a global memo to staff on Wednesday seen by Reuters.

"Some roles will change, new roles may be created, and roles that do not fit our new structure will be eliminated," Sara Wechter, the bank's chief human resources officer, wrote in the memo. "This next layer of change is scheduled to be announced in November."

Employees whose jobs are eliminated may be eligible to apply for other positions, and the company will offer severance pay and notice periods where eligible, according to the message. The contents of the memo have not previously been reported. Citi declined to comment on the global memo.

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Citigroup also convened a meeting of its managing directors on Wednesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Executives addressed the measures outlined in Wechter's memo, one of people said.

Bankers had 15 minutes advance notice about the meeting, which lasted only 30 minutes, the source said.

Citigroup also declined to comment on the managing directors' meeting.

Last month, Citi CEO Jane Fraser announced a sweeping reorganization to simplify the bank's structure after divesting from non-core markets and focusing on profitable areas. Fraser's memo to staff did not announce an expected number of job cuts but said the departures would enable staff who generate revenue and dealmakers to focus their time on clients.

"We'll be saying goodbye to some very talented and hard-working colleagues," Fraser wrote at the time.

Citi had 240,000 employees at the end of the second quarter. That compares with headcounts of about 216,000 at Bank of America and 234,000 at Wells Fargo, the second and fourth-largest U.S. lenders respectively.

Fraser has increasingly toughened the message to staff. "We don't have room for bystanders, we don't have room for people who want to stand on the sidelines," she said in a TV interview last week.

CONSULTATIONS IN THE UK

The bank is also beginning the consultations required in the UK after earlier warning employees about possible redundancies.

"We are updating colleagues on our next steps to align our structure with our strategy, and consulting with the London Consultation Forum about roles currently under review, some of these roles may change, while others will remain largely the same," the bank said in a statement Wednesday.

Citi hopes the overhaul will revive its share price, which has lagged peers, and will give the CEO more direct control over its businesses.

Reuters has reported that cuts will focus on support areas with overlapping teams such as compliance and risk management, and spare profit-making units.

Citigroup will report third quarter earnings on Oct. 13. In the second quarter, net income tumbled 36 per cent to $2.92 billion, beating analyst expectations.

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