Citigroup's Huge Layoffs Will Hit NY Hard

Photograph of the Citigroup building in Long Island City, seen beyond a cemetery in Queens by Seth Wenig/AP

Crain's says that Citigroup's announced 52,000-employee reduction is the "second-largest job cut ever undertaken by any company." (The largest one is from 1993, when IBM let go of 60,000.) Citigroup's job cuts--which many don't think are enough given its current condition--are global and some will be through asset sales (about half are layoffs). But Citi is NYC's "second-largest" employer "behind only the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System," according to Crain's.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who called the cuts "sad and disturbing," hopes that top Citi executives will do the right thing and not take bonuses, as the top brass at Goldman Sachs decided to forego their bonuses. Cuomo said, "As Citigroup suffers, so too do investors, employees, and taxpayers. After four consecutive quarterly losses, it seems only fair that top executives should shoulder their fair share of these difficult economic times.” And Governor Paterson is using Citi's announcement as confirmation the budget situation in the state is dire (less Wall Street revenue)--and is all the more reason the Legislature should act now with budget cuts.

Citigroup CEO gave a town hall meeting explaining the cuts and Citi's business situation (PDF) and read an email from Pandit as well.

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By Jen Chung in News on November 18, 2008 9:13 AM

Comments [rss]

runs with scissors

judgments of citibank aside, that number of layoffs is going to be really bad for new york.

i'd say a big crap storm is on its way. the likes of which we haven't seen since late 1987.

NannyState

Citi is now on deathwatch. Maybe Pandit inherited a bad situation, but what did he do about it? Without a nationwide branch network, Citigroup is just a useless joke. Nobody will do business with them ever again.

benjaminwright

The world is different today compared to the past. Technology makes it possible for a smaller work force to do virtually the same job as a larger workforce. As white collar employees are handed pink slips, an employer like a bank or a brokerage may be prudent to retain their e-mail records. The records are a valuable asset to the employer, relating to intellectual property, project management, customer relationships and more. --Ben

tingo

I think it's funny how top execs are now 'doing what's right' by not taking bouses. Can this have anything to do with it...?

"Cuomo had fired off letters to nine financial institutions, warning that using government money for bonuses could be considered “illegal fraudulent conveyances,” and lead to prosecution. He demanded detailed information about bonus-pool allocations from the boards of the nine institutions that received $125 billion from the Federal Reserve.

The nine firms Cuomo warned were Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and Wells Fargo. And he also asked their boards to explain what mechanisms they have put in place to protect taxpayer funds."

-CFO Magazine.

PnonG

i have to also say, great photo for this story

Shinobi Shaw

It's gong to get worse people, the people will NEVER see their bailout money (as the likes of Goldman Sachs are buying assets with it).

If anybody remembers ARGENTINA in 2002, they know we are heading this way too!

tingo

Not like you'd know judging by attendance at the city's swank eateries and watering holes with double-parked towncars idling away oil reserves outside.

Do you think this will affect the douchey places that require you to email and then knock four times to get in?

drewo

Citi Field will outlive Citigroup.

longacre

On the downside, if they don't pay themselves bonuses, the state gets less of that sorely needed tax revenue. They're going to lay these people off either way.

Also, I LOVE that photo.

ides_of_march

#10 about time somebody admitted it.

ed_Extinct

The sad thing about Congress doing this, they were Dems. :(

schizofriendly

That photo. Ooof!

Steven

The CEOs and the board should be fired.

donner

Great picture though.

whitecastlerock

bignick I agree 100%. I recall that the home of the Astros was once called Enron Field.

matty

Good point bignick.

Things like that make me remember that these banks know what they are doing and that it will all be ok in the end...

JH4285

"Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who called the cuts 'sad and disturbing,' hopes that top Citi executives will do the right thing and not take bonuses, as the top brass at Goldman Sachs has decided to do."

Wait, so Goldman execs did or did not take bonuses?

BigNick

Good thing they're spending 20 million a year for 20 years on naming rights for Citi field.

unregistered_wiseguy

How the hell could Congress guaranteeing mortgages for poor people end up doing this much damage to the entire planet's economy?