Vikram Pandit - Articles - Zimbio

In a statement just read on CNBC, the megabank Citigroup has said that they plan to cut another 50,000 jobs on top of the 23,000 announced earlier this year.

VIA REUTERS: "Cuts are expected from layoffs, the sale of units and attrition. Citigroup plans to slash expenses 20 percent from peak levels and spend $50 billion to $52 billion in 2009, compared with $59.8 billion in 2007.

The cuts are Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's most dramatic move yet to restore profitability and bolster a sagging share price. Last week, Citigroup stock fell into the single digits for the first time since Sanford "Sandy" Weill created the bank in 1998 from the merger of Travelers Group Inc and Citicorp.

Shares of Citigroup have fallen 68 percent this year, leaving the bank with a market value of only $51.9 billion, barely twice the $25 billion of capital it received from the U.S. Treasury Department's bank bailout plan.

VIA BBC: "Citigroup has lost more than $20bn (£13.6bn) in the past year because of the global financial crisis.

"Underlying business remains strong and revenues have been stable," the bank said.

Citigroup's chief executive Vikram Pandit has come under pressure from critics who have doubted his ability to turn around the company and weather the financial crisis.

Some analysts believe the bank will not make a profit again until 2010.

Citigroup to cut 50,000 jobs

Sun, 17 Nov 2008 20:00:32 GMT

posted by yours

Financial services major Citigroup is planning to slash as many as 50,000 jobs in the next five to six months and also intends to reduce costs by 20 per cent, says a media report. Quoting people close to the company, television channel CNBC on Monday (November 17) said the number of jobs cuts may rise as high as 50,000 in order to bring the company’s workforce to about 300,000 worldwide.

“These people say these cuts will occur in a relatively shorter period of time, such as over the next five or six months,” CNBC said in a report published on its website today. Further, the report noted that Citi would cut expenses by as much as 20 per cent.

“Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit plans to make a dramatic statement on Monday morning about major cut-backs in the struggling firm’s workforce aimed at calming market fears that the troubled financial services giant isn’t taking the steps necessary to address its many ills, which include a bloated cost structure…,” CNBC said quoting people close to the company.

Further, the report attributing to a person close to the firm said, “The object here is for the people to take notice… The exact number is still a moving target but it will be dramatic.” On Friday, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Citi would be handing out pink slips to at least 10,000 employees. In October, Citi had posted a net loss of $2.8 billion for the third quarter and said that its head count was cut down by about 11,000 employees during the period.

Meanwhile, in the first three quarters of this year, the company has reduced its workforce by about 23,000 heads. According to the CNBC report, Pandit, who has been the chief for less than one year, has been under fire of late for not moving fast enough to solve the myriad of problems faced by the company.

The financial services giant has been reporting losses for several quarters on account of huge writedowns. The shares of the company have taken a severe beating in the recent months and were trading at around $9.52 on Friday. “The bet on depressed mortgage-related debt was not Pandit’s doing; it was a legacy of his predecessor, former CEO Chuck Prince, who resigned amid mounting losses in late 2007,” CNBC noted.

Pandit recently faced criticism for failing to complete a merger with Wachovia, which would have provided Citi with hundreds of billions of dollars in deposits, the report added. Quoting people with knowledge of Pandit’s thinking, CNBC said, “…he knows that Monday’s speech to employees may be his most important test since taking up the job, and may prove the deciding factor in whether he remains in the post.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Citigroup to cut 50,000 jobs

Sun, 17 Nov 2008 20:00:18 GMT

posted by yours

(With inputs from agencies)

Citigroup Job Cuts: Could Citi Be Headed For Buyout Or Government Takeover?

Sun, 17 Nov 2008 14:03:53 GMT

posted by argh2xxx

Posted by god 17 minutes ago (http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
Category: Miscellaneous

All weekend, the media has been atwitter with the rumor of enormous impending job cuts at Citigroup. CEO Vikram Pandit will make an announcement at 8 a.m. this morning, expected to be the announcement of anywhere between 23,000 and 50,000 job cuts.

But that news may not be the end of it. Some are speculating that the time is nearing for a Citigroup takeover or buyout:

Citi is at a tipping point like a cow in a field at midnight. If its stock continues to drop sharply, the market and the bank's customers may begin to lose faith and withdraw assets or cease doing business with the firm. If Citi announces that its financial fortunes will get worse between now and its next earnings report, it may say that the damage within some of its division cannot be contained.

That leaves the question of whether Citi becomes the next Wachovia or the next AIG (AIG). If the Fed and Treasury become concerned enough about the bank and have to intercede with more capital, the government may pressure Citi's board to sell the company to the highest bidder within its own industry. That may be the well-run JP Morgan (JPM) The FDIC might have to guarantee some of Citi's assets to accommodate a transaction, but there is recent precedent for the government to bend in that direction.

More on Economy