CITI Singapore has no plans to layoff staff, despite a report in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday about an alleged plan by Citigroup Inc. to cut staff from its worldwide investment banking division.
The newspaper reported on its website that the New York-based global financial services group was preparing to lay off thousands of staff - as part of a plan to reduce about 10 per cent of the 65,000 employees from the division.
Mr Adam Rahman, director of corporate affairs of Citi Singapore, told my paper that the group's approximately 9,000-strong Singapore arm will continue to hire and invest.
'There are no plans for headcount reductions at this point of time,' said Mr Rahman.
'Any attrition we see in Singapore is largely due to our regular review of the business.'
Citi Singapore sees an average of 10 per cent increase each year in staff headcount for the entire franchise over the past few years, said Mr Rahman.
'Singapore and Asia are strong growth areas for Citi and we continue to invest and hire to meet business needs.'
Last November, the group announced the move of its Singapore back-office operations to Changi Business Park, which cost $220 million.
It had also announced earlier the opening of two regional service hubs here.
According to a report by the Associated Press last night, the New York-based group is about half-way through the layoff.
Citigroup has announced 13,200 job cuts this year as it tries to recover from bad investments on mortgages and leveraged loans.
The group posted a US$5.1 billion (S$6.97 billion) loss in the first quarter and a nearly US$10 billion loss in the fourth quarter of last year.
