Looks like Citigroup is following the lead of Bank of America in not moving to the 21st century. Well, they are moving to the 21st century but they're thinking too much in the 20th century where the biggest concern is just simply cutting costs, cutting costs and, you guessed it, cutting costs.
Seriously, you know something is brewing in Citigroup when they are cutting jobs across the board, including technology jobs that could very well be key to helping Citigroup manage its IT Infrastructure and make the company competitive in the 21st century.
Look, I'm not employed by Citigroup. I know my friend used to bank with them but now he's living in Virginia and last I remembered, set up an account at Chevy Chase Bank (back when he was living in Silver Spring, MD). Only those in operations at Citigroup know better than I do.
Still, thinking objectively, I just can't see how cutting 11,000 jobs at Citigroup is adding up to a good PR campaign that Citigroup will be able to manage.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
NEW YORK — Citigroup said Wednesday that it will cut 11,000 jobs, a bold early move by new CEO Michael Corbat.
The cuts amount to about 4 percent of Citi’s workforce. The bulk of them, about 6,200 jobs, will come from Citi’s consumer banking unit, which handles everyday functions like branches and checking accounts.
Citi said that it will sell or scale back consumer operations in Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania, Turkey and Uruguay and focus on 150 cities around the world “that have the highest growth potential in consumer banking.”
The bank, the third-largest in the country by assets, did not say how many jobs it will cut in the United States.
About 1,900 job cuts will come from the institutional clients group, which includes the investment bank. The company will also cut jobs in technology and operations by using more automation and moving jobs to “lower-cost locations.”
Investors appeared to like the move. They sent Citi stock up more than 6 percent on a day when bank stocks were up 1.3 percent as a group. Citi was up $2.4 at $36.43 in midday trading.
Investors appeared to like the move eh? Who are these "investors?" Mitt Romney?
Job cuts are a familiar template in a banking industry still under the long shadow of the 2008 financial crisis.
Banks are searching for ways to make money as new regulations crimp some of their former revenue streams, like trading for their own profit or marketing credit cards to college students.
Customers are still nervous about borrowing money in an uncertain economy. And they are still filing lawsuits over industry practices like risky mortgage lending that helped cause the crisis.
Citi fared worse than others. It nearly collapsed, had to take two taxpayer-funded bailout loans, and became the poster child for banks that had grown too big and disorderly.
Has Citigroup even thought of hiring business analysts? Um, no they haven't. They probably don't know what the field of business analysis or consulting is. Wait, they do, but they probably hired the wrong people.
Aye, this is why I'm glad to be apart of the Bay Area economy, the best place in America to be hired right now.