CITIGROUP eliminated more jobs this week, just as executives were announcing new share buybacks and doubling down on chief executive officer Jane Fraser’s commitment to expense reductions.
Managing directors in the wealth business and technology unit are leaving the bank, according to sources familiar with the matter. The firm is also cutting a team that compiles data and analysis on Citigroup’s clients, one of the sources said, asking not to be named discussing private information.
The sprawling global bank is trying to streamline its operations and lift profitability to compete more closely with its rivals, with an aim set out last year to reduce jobs by 20,000 by the end of 2026. Cost savings will partly be channelled into investing in areas such as data quality and regulatory controls, Fraser said on Wednesday (Jan 15).
Senior departures included Shadman Zafar, the bank’s Dallas-based co-chief information officer, who is retiring, according to one of the sources. In Wealth at Work, a unit that caters to individuals at professional-services firms, several managing directors were cut as part of a broader restructuring of the team.
“Leadership changes, retirements and targeted staff changes are all normal course when running a business,” Citigroup said.
The company’s headcount was 229,000 as at the end of the fourth quarter, down by 10,000 from a year earlier.
On Wednesday, the bank’s shares jumped after the company announced US$20 billion in share buybacks, even after executives rolled back a key target for profitability. BLOOMBERG
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