Citigroup to cut more than 50,000 jobs

Citigroup said Monday it planned to cut more than 50,000 jobs, the latest move by the struggling bank to cut costs in order to weather the credit crisis plaguing Wall Street.
In an investor presentation on its Web site, the company said it would reduce its workforce to approximately 300,000 employees. As of the end of September, the New York City-based bank had about 352,000 employees.
This would be a 20% reduction in Citigroup's staff from their peak levels late last year.
Roughly half of those jobs would come as a result of recent division sales, including the sale of the company's German retail banking division. A Citigroup spokesperson said the remainder would touch all divisions of the company, both domestically and internationally.
Last week, there was speculation that the company's investment banking and wealth management divisions would feel the brunt of the cuts.
Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, who was appointed last December, addressed the job cuts at an employee town hall meeting held Monday morning.
In a memo to company employees Monday, Pandit asked workers to remain committed to their clients and customers ahead of what is expected to be a difficult 2009. "Citi needs you to maintain your focus on helping them succeed because now is the time when lasting loyalty is earned," he wrote.
Most of the cuts are expected to take place by year end before trailing off sometime in 2009. What remains unclear is whether more layoffs could follow. The company described the cuts as a "near-term" target.
Citigroup's announcement is the latest blow to an already reeling labor market. Nearly 1.2 million jobs have been lost this year and the unemployment rate hit a more than 14-year high of 6.5% in October.
And according to figures from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Citigroup's job cuts rank among the largest since Challenger began tracking layoffs in 1993. IBM announced job cuts of 60,000 workers in July 1993 while retailer Sears announced 50,000 job cuts in January 1993.