Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is tightening its belt again. The bank’s trading and investment unit will cut 150 additional jobs this year. The bank also plans to trim bonuses for workers by up to 10 percent. Both belt-tightening maneuvers are expected to happen this quarter, although the top performers at the bank are not expected to be affected.
A spokesperson for Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has not commented on the plan to trim bonuses, although the bank has said that it would keep cutting its staff. Citigroup’s shareholders will learn more about the bank’s cost-cutting measures next week at a financial services conference hosted by Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS).
Citibank has shown a trend in eliminating investment banking positions that pay the most, although the speed at which the cuts have been coming is starting to slow. A year ago at this time, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) slashed 1,200 jobs in the division, and in the first six months of this year it cut another 350 jobs.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s new CEO, Michael Corbat, has just taken the helm of the bank after former CEO Vikram Pandit’s sudden departure in October. He faces an uphill battle of increasing Citigroup’s profitability, and he’s not the only Wall Street CEO facing such a battle.
Several banks and financial firms are rapidly slashing jobs and dumping assets amidst new regulatory laws and other measures that are being put in place to prevent another financial meltdown. Among other banks that are making cuts is Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), which is slashing about 100 jobs in its investment unit, although those cuts will occur in the U.K. Also, UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) is cutting a staggering 10,000 jobs as it prepares to cut its investment unit so that it can focus purely on wealth management instead.
