Exclusive-Citigroup to lay off more employees in March, sources say

By Tatiana Bautzer and Lananh Nguyen

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Citigroup is expected to lay off more employees in March following a round of about 1,000 job cuts this month, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The new wave of layoffs is expected to be announced after bonuses are paid, said the sources, who did not specify the scale or location of the previously unreported plans.

They come as Citi CEO Jane Fraser continues a sweeping turnaround plan designed to cut costs, fix regulatory problems and boost profits to help the bank catch up with rivals. 

The March layoffs are likely to affect managing directors and senior employees across business lines, according to one of the sources. Some senior managers have already been reassigned to different divisions to secure roles before headcount is reduced, the source said.

The cuts this month also affected many senior employees, the second source said. The sources declined to be identified discussing personnel matters. 

In a statement, Citigroup said the bank will continue to reduce headcount in 2026. “These changes reflect adjustments we’re making to ensure our staffing levels, locations and expertise align with current business needs; efficiencies we have gained through technology; and progress against our Transformation work, which is nearing target state.”

Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said during an earnings call Citi’s workforce shrank from 240,000 in 2022 to 226,000 employees by the end of last year.

“We have been reducing headcount and expect that trend to continue as we take a step back and look at the trajectory of our expense base,” Mason told analysts in a separate earnings call, highlighting the $800 million expense related to severance last year. 

CEO JANE FRASER’S STRATEGY

The new rounds of layoffs, as well as another reorganization announced in November, are the next steps in Fraser’s strategy.

Fraser, who took on the CEO role in 2021, received a one-time $25 million equity award for progress on her turnaround plan and was elected as chair of the board in October.  

In 2023 and 2024 the company publicly announced major layoffs as it was reducing management layers and selling assets, but the latest headcount reductions are being done more discreetly, a third source said, without detailing the reasoning.

The cuts come as the bank is getting regulatory relief. The U.S. Federal Reserve closed notices that required the bank to fix trading risk management weaknesses, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency withdrew a 2024 amendment to a 2020 regulatory punishment known as a consent order. 

Citi’s shares gained 65.8% in 2025, outperforming peers and an index tracking broader bank stocks by a wide margin. The bank bought back $13.25 billion in stock last year, and its shares are down 0.8% so far this year. 

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Lananh Nguyen; Editing by Jamie Freed and Nick Zieminski)