Citigroup to cut 20,000 jobs in big corporate overhaul

New York, Jan 13 (IANS) Global banking major Citigroup will reduce 10 per cent of its workforce, or about 20,000 employees, in the next two years in a major corporate overhaul.

About 20,000 employees will be let go over the "medium term", Citigroup said after presenting fourth-quarter earnings late on Friday.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser hailed 2024 as a "turning point" for the US banking group, reports CNBC.

Citigroup had roughly 200,000 workers at the end of 2023, excluding Mexican operations.

The bank posted a $1.8 billion loss for the fourth quarter, after recording $3.8 billion in restructuring, retreat from Russia and exposure to Argentina.

“While the fourth quarter was very disappointing due to the impact of notable items, we made substantial progress simplifying Citi and executing our strategy in 2023,” Fraser said.

Fraser had announced “a sweeping overhaul of the third-largest US bank by assets” in September last year.

This year, Citigroup expects to incur as much as $1 billion in severance and reorganisation costs.

“Given how far we are down the path of our simplification and divestitures, 2024 will be a turning point,” said Citigroup CEO.

The company has earlier executed several waves of layoffs, beginning with the top layers of the bank, with another round of cuts set for January 22, according to reports.