Citigroup is laying off 3,500 technology staff in mainland China as part of its global effort to streamline operations and reduce costs, while pledging its commitment to corporate and institutional clients in the world’s second-largest economy.
The affected employees, who provide technology support for operations in the Asia-Pacific region, are based in Shanghai and Dalian in the northeastern province of Liaoning, according to a statement on Thursday. The cuts would be completed in the fourth quarter, it added.
Some roles would be eliminated while others would be relocated and excess office space would be reduced, the bank said, adding that the separation packages were higher than the local industry average. The downsizing would not affect its Shanghai-based unit, which houses its core banking business, or its other service centre in Guangzhou.
“We are committed to our corporate and institutional clients in China and supporting their cross-border banking needs, as well as clients across our international network who do business there,” said Marc Luet, Citigroup’s head of banking and Japan, Asia North and Australia. The bank supports a large number of leading companies, including 70 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies in China, he added.
Citigroup, the third-largest lender in the US, is still aiming to establish a fully owned securities and futures unit in China, Luet said, which seems to have been delayed by strained US-China ties.
