Wednesday, April 11, 2007

CITIGROUP CUTS 17,000 JOBS, SAVES $2.1 BILLION IN 2007


From WSJ.com:

Citigroup Inc., in what's considered its first major overhaul since its formation a decade ago, announced it will save $2.1 billion in 2007 by eliminating 17,000 positions.

The New York financial services giant's long-awaited restructuring will eliminate certain layers of management and reduce its corporate center. Back-office, middle-office and corporate functions will be consolidated, and more than 9,500 jobs will be moved to lower-cost locations, domestically and internationally.

Citigroup sees savings of $3.7 billion in 2008 and $4.6 billion in 2009. It will take a charge of $871 million in the first quarter and pretax charges of $200 million over the rest of 2007. The company will release its first-quarter results Monday.

Over the past year, Citigroup's stock has underperformed hometown rival J.P. Morgan and Bank of America Corp. Last summer, Citigroup's largest individual shareholder, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, demanded that the company take "draconian" steps to reduce expenses.

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