Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) to cut 150 more jobs, Shares Down

The job cuts are still happening despite evidence of higher growth in the United States.

Citigroup Inc.(NYSE:C)’s trading and investment banking business plans to cut about 150 more jobs while bonuses are expected to be cut by up to 10 percent, Bloomberg reported on Friday citing sources.

According to the report, the job cuts will affect people working in the equities, trading and underwriting parts of the company.

"While bonuses for this year will shrink across the securities and banking division, which employs about 17,000 people, top performers are likely to be spared reductions," the report said, quoting sources.

With the economy in a prolonged slump, Europe still in the grip of a debt crisis that refuses to go away, the equity markets have also been sluggish, not yielding the kind of returns that dealers and traders have been used to.

Investment banks and brokerages such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and UBS AG (UBSN) have been resorting to drastic measures to reduce costs

Incidentally the current round of job cuts at Citigroup were initiated under the tenure of the former Chief Executive Vikram Pandit, a source told Bloomberg.

“We have been making targeted headcount reductions throughout the year in certain businesses and functions across Citi as part of our efforts to control expenses during the current environment,” Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a spokeswoman for Citigroup, told Bloomberg in an e-mailed statement.

Citigroup’s planned job cuts add to 1,200 dismissals that the lender announced for the securities and banking division in January. By July, Citigroup decided to eliminate 350 more jobs.

Shares of the firn are down 1.70% at mid day.