Citigroup to cut 4,500 back-office jobs

Bank has made £224m in IT savings this year

US banking giant Citigroup has announced it is to lay off 4,500 in the coming months, with many of the job losses coming from its back-office functions.

Citigroup is in the middle of an aggressive cost-cutting programme as it faces up to tough economic conditions in its core trading markets. It has set aside £256m ($400m) to cover the costs of its layoff programme.

But while the job cuts will affect many back-office functions, Citigroup continues to recognise the importance IT is playing in making the banking giant more efficient.

Speaking at a financial services conference organised by Goldman Sachs, Vikram Pandit, Citigroup chief executive, said that the company's IT operations continued to play a critical role in improving the operational efficiency within the group.

Citigroup managed to cut operational costs by £890m ($1.4bn) in the first nine months of 2011, said Pandit. “Three-quarters of this came from global operations and technology,” he said.

According to Pandit, Citigroup had made savings worth roughly £224m ($350m) from IT infrastructure and application development initiatives, helping to improve the efficiency of its call centre and collection functions.