AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT CITIGROUP (04/01/24)

Stephen Levine September 30, 2020

Am I Next? Reduction in force continues at Citigroup.

APRIL 1, 2024 — 430 NEW YORK EMPLOYEES

Citigroup will lay off another 430 employees across different divisions in New York, including 363 employees in Citibank. IT employees and broker-dealers are also impacted. Layoffs are scheduled for June 29, 2024.

MARCH 2, 2024 — ANOTHER 300 NEW YORK EMPLOYEES GONE

In addition to its previously announced cuts, the company is laying off another 300 New York employees, including About 239 workers in the primary banking subsidiary, 44 from its broker-dealer unit, and 3 from its technology arm.

JANUARY 13, 2024 — 20,000 EMPLOYEES AT RISK THROUGH 2026

CFO Mark Mason is promising a reorganization that will see a ten percent reduction in the workforce by 2025 or 2026—impacting an estimated 20,000 employees. The reorganization will be substantially completed by March 31, 2024, which will drive the reduction in force.

Citi says the reorganization will reduce five layers of management, from thirteen to eight with the heads of Citi’s five business units reporting directly to CEO Jane Fraser.

Additionally, another 40,000 employees may be at risk as Citi exits from its consumer banking business in Mexico and elsewhere.

DECEMBER 21, 2023 — PROBLEMS ON THE HORIZON IN 2024

Citigroup has announced that it is shutting down its municipal underwriting and trading units by March 31, 2024, as part of its efficiency and cost-containment initiative.

According to Andy Morton, head of markets, and Peter Babej, interim head of banking, “The economics of these activities are no longer viable given our commitment to increase the firm’s overall returns. We will maintain and further develop our investment banking activities in key sectors of public-private partnership, including transportation, healthcare, and clean energy. Citi has been active in the private placement market, and we see opportunities to grow as the wallet expands.”

NOVEMBER 24, 2023 — 300+ SENIOR MANAGERS GONE

Citigroup has announced that it will be laying off more than 300 senior managers from two levels below Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s executive management team as part of an effort to simplify the organizational structure.

According to a company statement, “Today we shared with our colleagues the next layer of changes across many of our businesses and functions as we continue to align Citi’s organizational structure with our new, simplified operating model. As we’ve acknowledged, the actions we’re taking to reorganize the firm involve some difficult, consequential decisions, but we believe they are the right steps to align our structure with our strategy and ensure we consistently deliver excellence to our clients.”

SEPTEMBER 3, 2022 — LAYOFFS IN MORTGAGE LENDING OPERATION

Citi has announced that it has cut fewer than 100 positions in its mortgage lending operation to address the slowdown in the housing market amid rising interest rates and reduced origination and refinancing activity.

According to a spokesperson, “Citi has made a small number of staffing reductions within our mortgage team due to internal streamlining of functions,”

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 — Original post…

New York, New York-based Citigroup, an international investment bank and financial services provider, has announced that it is resuming its postponed reduction in headcount. The company estimates that the reduction in force will affect less than 1% of the company's headcount or approximately 2,000 employees.

According to a company spokesperson, "While we never comment on our discussions with regulators, we are completely committed to improving our risk and control environment. We recognize that we are not yet where we need to be and that has to change. We have thus redoubled our efforts and have made improving our risk and control environment a strategic priority.”

“The decision to eliminate even a single colleague role is very difficult, especially during these challenging times. We will do our best to support each person, including offering the ability to apply for open roles in other parts of the firm and providing severance packages.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT ZIONS BANK

Stephen Levine November 11, 2019

Am I Next? Reduction in force at Zions Bank.

Salt Lake City, Utah-based Zions Bancorporation, a financial holding company and the parent company of Zions Bank, has used its third-quarter (2019) earnings report to announce that it will reduce its workforce by 5%, affecting approximately 500 employees, approximately two-thirds of which will be administrative and support personnel and the remaining third of which will be customer-facing personnel. It is anticipated that this will also include employees at closed or relocated bank branches.

Harris H. Simmons, Chairman and CEO, commented, “Given the challenging interest rate environment in which banks currently operate, we’re pleased with the quarter’s overall results. We achieved solid growth of both demand and interest-bearing deposits, moderate loan growth, strong customer-related fee income growth, and flat operating expenses. As we adjust to a lower interest rate environment and anticipate the resulting continued pressure on interest margins, we will continue to take steps to carefully manage operating expenses in the year ahead. We are optimistic that we will be able to manage 2020 operating expenses to a level that is no more than, and likely modestly reduced from, expected 2019 results.”

“We're enhancing digital experiences for our customers with the goal of being quite competitive with the best providers of financial service products banks and nonbanks alike while remaining focused on continuous improvement and streamlining our processes, thereby keeping noninterest expense under control.”

“Over the long term, we'll remain focused on delivering positive operating leverage, although we recognize that this challenge will increase as our operating efficiency improves. As lower interest rates across the yield curve have materialized over the past several months, we've sharpened our focus on noninterest expenses. Today, we're announcing an acceleration of our drive toward improving operating efficiency, which will result in a near-term workforce reduction of about 5%, along with other operating expense reductions. We are absolutely committed to our branch footprint. We're relocating some branches, but we'll bring our total level of branches down by a very modest amount.”

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT HUNTINGTON BANK

Stephen Levine November 4, 2019

Am I Next? Downturn in interest rates hits Huntington Bank.

Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bank, a large regional financial institution, has announced that it will eliminate up to 200 jobs across its seven state footprint. The reason given by company is that there has been a significant drop in revenue caused by interest rate volatility. According to a company spokesperson, “While our business continues to perform well, the rapidly changing interest rate environment fundamentally impacts our revenue. In response, Huntington has taken a variety of measures to reduce expenses, which includes adjusting staffing levels. We understand the weight of the decision on our colleagues and will support them through a planned transition. Huntington will continue to enhance the performance and efficiency of the company, while investing in technology to meet the needs and desires of our customers.”

The basic problem with interest rate declines is that many investors move their funds into higher-yielding investments, refinance higher-cost debt, and reduce account balances which the bank uses to meet core capital requirements or lends to other institutions on an overnight basis.