Citi to cut more jobs as part of 6,000 position reduction plan

Citigroup may be near another round of layoffs this week as it attempts to reach its goal of 6,000 layoffs in response to the deteriorating credit markets. The company has already laid off approximately half that number, and sources inside the company say more are on the way.

This shouldn’t really surprise anyone. Citi has been one of the hardest hit by bad mortgage bets and has done nearly everything in its power to stay afloat – including taking on large sums of capital from soveriegn wealth funds.

From Bloomberg:

Citigroup Inc. may begin another round of job reductions as soon as this week under a plan drawn up in March to cut the trading and investment-banking workforce by 10 percent, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

The largest U.S. bank has eliminated about half of the 6,000 jobs targeted since then, said the person, who declined to be identified because Citigroup hasn’t disclosed the plans publicly. Citigroup employs more than 300,000 people worldwide and has announced about 13,000 job reductions this year.

Citigroup has lost more than any company in the mortgage market rout and its shares tumbled 63 percent in the past year. Pandit, 51, was promoted in December to replace Charles O. “Chuck” Prince, who was ousted the previous month.

Citigroup said in January it would eliminate about 4,000 jobs in the securities division, and said two months later that the number had increased by about 2,000. Citigroup then said in April it would slash 7,000 jobs outside the investment-banking group over the next year, and executives have said further reductions are likely.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that employees may begin receiving termination notices this week.