Citigroup has announced plans to cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years under a turnaround plan led by the Wall Street giant’s British chief executive Jane Fraser.
Fraser pledged that 2024 would be a ‘turning point’ after the lender reported a £1.4billion loss for the fourth quarter that she admitted was ‘very disappointing’.
The loss was caused by a series of one-off charges including an industry-wide contribution to cover the cost of the collapse of two lenders last year. It was also hobbled by costs relating to Russia and Argentina and restructuring.
Full year profits were down by 38 per cent to £7.2billion.
Fraser has already made clear that change was coming, last autumn announcing that Citi would strip out a layer of management as she seeks to boost profits and share price. She told staff in September they should ‘get off the train’ if they were not committed to the shake-up.
Turnaround plan: The 20,000 job cuts announced will take out a big chunk of Citigroup’s 239,000-strong workforce
The 20,000 job cuts announced yesterday will take out a big chunk of its 239,000-strong workforce. A further reduction of 40,000 will come as it spins off Mexican bank Banamex, leaving 180,000.
A spokesman said it would not provide a breakdown of how many of Citi’s 16,000 UK employees would be affected.
Chief financial officer Mark Mason yesterday admitted the job cuts were ‘tough on morale’ but that they would not prevent revenue growth. Shares rose 1.2 per cent, or 0.6p, to 53.2p.
It came as Wall Street rival JP Morgan said its quarterly profits fell by 15 per cent to £7.3billion but full year profits rose 32 per cent to £38.9billion.
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