Banking giant Citigroup announced Wednesday that it would cut about 11,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its global work force, and shutter some branches in an attempt to save as much as $1.1 billion a year in costs.
The move will initially result in pre-tax charges of $1 billion to fourth quarter earnings.
It is the first major action to restructure the company since directors named Michael Corbat chief executive officer in October after becoming impatient with former CEO Vikram Pandit.
“We have identified areas and products where our scale does not provide for meaningful returns,” Corbat said in a statement from the company. “We will further increase our operating efficiency by reducing excess capacity and expenses,” he added.
Besides the job cuts, the reorganization will reduce annual revenues by “less than $300 million,” the statement said.
Analysts have expected an action of this sort since Corbat was introduced as CEO by Chairman Michael O’Neill. O’Neill is known in the banking industry for shrinking companies to eliminate businesses that are not earning satisfactory returns.
