Jane Fraser became the Citigroup CEO in 2021. (File Photo)
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has sent out a tough message to company’s 240,000 employees saying it is time to “deliver the change or get off the train”, according to Financial Times (FT). This comes days after she announced biggest restructuring in the bank’s history in 15 years. The changes give Ms Fraser more direct control as she seeks to simplify the Wall Street giant and boost its stock. She took charge of the third-largest US bank in 2021 and faces the tough task of making it less risky and more profitable.
As per FT, Ms Fraser held a townhall meeting last week in which she told the employees, “Get on board. We have incredibly high ambitions for this bank and, the train, it’s gonna move fast.”
“So lean in, help us win with clients, help us deliver the changes, or get off the train,” she further said, according to the outlet that attributed the remarks to people who heard the remarks.
Though Ms Fraser has not revealed the number of jobs the management plans to cut, her restructuring plan has sent shockwaves among employees.
After the report about her overhaul plan surfaced, senior executives left the company, including as Eduardo Cruz, who heads Citi’s Latin American investment banking operations, said FT.
Earlier this month, she told investors in New York that the management has taken “hard, consequential, tough decisions”. “They are not going to be universally popular within our bank. It’s going to make some of our people very uncomfortable. I am absolutely fine with that … It is absolutely the right thing to do for our shareholders,” Reuters quoted her as saying at the meeting.
The sweeping reorganisation is another step in Ms Fraser’s strategy to improve profits and streamline the bank since she took the helm. Although Citi has sold businesses and is working on fixing regulatory problems, its stock price has lagged peers.
The bank is still dealing with a 2020 consent order by regulators demanding it correct several “longstanding deficiencies” in its internal controls.
