Citigroup, Inc. says it plans to trim 17,000 jobs, about 5% of its 327,000 workforce, and relocate some corporate centers, all by the end of the year.
As part of the announced cost-cutting measures, it will relocate 9,500 jobs to lower-cost locations, both domestically and internationally, with about two-thirds through attrition. Locations in New York may be affected.
However, the company says its workforce will expand overall this year due to acquisitions and other branch openings.
As part of the revenue-boosting review, the company says it will make several structural changes, including:
- Eliminate layers of management. The company notes that this will bring “those interacting with clients closer to those responsible for running the businesses. In many businesses, the company will increase the average number of employees that report to each manager.”
- Increase the use of shared services. The company expects greater efficiencies by creating “utilities in areas such as legal, human resources, risk management, and financial operations, as well as the sharing of regional and country middle office functions in international markets.”
With previously announced IT savings, the employee and location changes are expected to generate total expense savings of approximately $2.1 billion in 2007, $3.7 billion in 2008, and $4.6 billion in 2009.
Citigroup’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney, and Banamex.
Citigroup is the nation’s largest financial institution.