Citigroup Announces 3,000 Layoffs – About 1% of Its Workforce

Citigroup announced a round of job cuts today that will impact about one percent of its global workforce. That amounts to roughly 3,000 workers, mostly from its securities and banking unit.

John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

Through October of this year, financial firms have announced 54,510 planned job cuts, up 161 percent from the 20,886 job cuts announced from January through October a year ago, according to layoff tracking by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. The largest banking cut this year came just two months ago, when Bank of America announced in September that it would shed about 30,000 workers over the next few years.

“Banks are still in bad shape following the recession and there are still a mountain of problems they must navigate, including the European debt crisis, the millions of foreclosed-on homes sitting on their books and record low interest rates. While many industries can say, ‘the worst is over,’ the banking industry is still waiting for the other shoe to drop,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Top Financial Job Cut Announcements, 2011 YTD