Citi to Cut 20,000 Jobs

Citigroup Inc. said it will eliminate 20,000 roles in a move that will save it as much as $2.5 billion as part of Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s quest to boost the Wall Street giant’s lagging returns.

Firmwide expenses are expected to drop to a range of $51 billion to $53 billion over the medium-term, Citigroup said, without clarifying the exact timeframe.

In the meantime, though, the firm expects to incur as much as $1 billion in expenses tied to severance payments and Fraser’s broader overhaul of the bank.

Costs for the year should be in the range of $53.5 billion to $53.8 billion — a decrease from the $56.4 billion the firm spent in 2023.

The outlook for cost savings helped mask a disappointing fourth quarter, when Citigroup’s fixed-income traders turned in their worst performance in five years as the rates and currencies business was stung by a slump in client activity in the final weeks of the year.

Revenue from the business slumped 25% to $2.6 billion.

“The fourth quarter was very disappointing,” Fraser said in the statement. “Given how far we are down the path of our simplification and divestitures, 2024 will be a turning point.”