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Citi layoffs in Singapore left employees uncertain and in low morale, former and current staff say
SINGAPORE: They went through one round of layoffs last November. And another in January. Then a third round in March.
US bank Citigroup announced a major restructuring of its business in September 2023, and the effects were trickling down to staff in Singapore.
When the March layoffs happened, Mark was one of those who were let go.
“I always knew cuts were coming,” he told CNA. “It was more of when it would happen.”
Things happened quickly in his wealth management division, he said. He was informed that his last day with the bank would be just days later. Some of his colleagues were on holiday when they were told that they had been laid off.
“It all happened within a day,” he said, adding that most people in the retail banking business were affected – even those not laid off were told their job scope had changed.
Those who were retrenched were not given the option to look for another role in the company.
Former and current employees who spoke to CNA did so on the condition of anonymity, and their names have been changed for this article.
GLOBAL JOB CUTS
Citi Singapore employs between 8,000 and 8,500 people, including contractors. The Straits Times reported earlier this month that Citi’s workforce shrank by around 500 people following its restructuring.
Citi did not confirm the figure, instead saying that its headcount fluctuates due to factors including attrition and "changes to contract and non-employee resourcing needs".
"The major actions to align Citi’s structure with our simplified operating model were completed in March. Those actions required us to have some very talented and hard-working colleagues leave the firm,” its spokesperson said.
In April, Citi CEO Jane Fraser said the bank eliminated around 7,000 positions globally, more than the 5,000 expected.
Related:
Media reports in January said Citi would cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years, and that the reduction in headcount would save US$2.5 billion over the long term.
"TOUGH FOR THOSE LEFT BEHIND"
For the Singapore office, former and current employees said the layoffs left behind an atmosphere of uncertainty.
"They didn't formally announce the number of cuts to (us). I heard that there's more coming but no formal news on that," said Amy, who is still with the bank's global consumer bank business division.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and people are questioning the direction of the bank and whether (the layoffs are) really effective,” she said.
Morale was especially low during the Chinese New Year period, after the January cuts, she said. "People were saying they should have at least waited until CNY was over to begin the cuts."
Mark told CNA that 40 per cent of his team of more than 10 were laid off. Those who kept their jobs also did not have an easy time with their increased workload, he said. “It’s tough for those who were left behind too.
“Very competent, capable people were let go of. People who were valued by their peers and managers,” he said. “It was very sad.”
Amy said some regional and country teams were merged. For instance, the international personal banking and global consumer bank divisions were combined. This meant that people doing similar jobs were laid off.
Junior staff were also laid off to reduce the size of teams. Amy added that she heard about two teams, each with fewer than 10 people, that lost about half of its members.
“There’s common consensus among my team and people I interacted with that the way the retrenchments were done (was) very badly executed – very rushed, letting the wrong people go, and sudden,” she said.
“Many have also left on their own accord after (the cuts) because of the uncertainty or simply because they don’t believe in the direction that the bank is heading towards.”
Amy believes the cuts to her team have been completed and things are "more settled" now. But her colleagues are still talking about leaving Citi and looking for other opportunities, she said.
Related:
CNA spoke to one ex-employee, Sarah, who has already found a job with a local bank. She recently resigned from her role in Citi's wealth management division.
Before the reorganisation, she was already concerned about career progression. The job cuts made her even less hopeful about finding other opportunities within the bank, and she was also disappointed by how the layoffs were handled.
“Seeing some talented staff being laid off surely makes one feel sad,” said Sarah, who is in her 30s. It also seemed unfair that regional teams seemed less affected than country teams when some of them were merged.
After March, she started actively looking for a new job. Other colleagues told her they were also open to leaving the bank, but she said many were taking a wait-and-see approach.
EMPLOYERS' MARKET
Hunting for a new job has been difficult for Mark, who said it’s an employer’s market in the banking industry now.
Most of the people he knows who got laid off in March have not found another job, while a few who were retrenched in January have been able to secure new roles.
Citi said: “We provided support to impacted colleagues, including severance and outplacement support in line with our country policy.”
The compensation Mark received was in line with local recommendations, he said. The Ministry of Manpower’s website said the “prevailing norm” is to pay a retrenchment benefit of between two weeks to one month's salary per year of service.
All things considered, Mark said he understood the need for a reorganisation in Citi. The organisation was slower and less mobile than other banks because there were too many layers of management to get through.
“It’s fair to say that the changes did come from a good place … they’re trying to reduce inefficiencies,” he said.
He believes the reorganisation could have been successful. “(But) you've got good people, good leaders with great potential ... unfortunately, they were told that they were deemed unnecessary,” he said.
Being laid off is not easy, and he said the company did not explain the reason why his role was made redundant.
“I think it’s not a testament of my value and whatnot,” he said. “It’s just, probably, I was unfortunate.”
Source: CNA/an(cy)
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