Citigroup begins first round of job cuts

Citigroup began a round of lay-offs among its London-based investment bankers this week, with jobs in advisory, equities and fixed income set to go as the bank readies 4,500 redundancies worldwide.

There are likely to be “several hundred” job cuts across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, sources yesterday said, as part of the lay-offs outlined by Citi chief executive Vikram Pandit on Tuesday.

The bank has already told some staff they are at risk and teams are set to hear on different days this week. Those in the investment banking division, which includes merger and acquisitions advisory, were told on Monday, sources added.

The equities division, one of the areas expected to be the worst affected by cuts, and other areas such as foreign exchange are expecting to hear later.