Mumbai, September 26: According to the Financial Times, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has given a harsh warning to the company's 240,000 workers, telling them to 'deliver the change or get off the train'. This comes only days after she unveiled the largest reorganisation in the bank's 15-year history. The reforms offer Fraser more direct influence as she attempts to streamline the Wall Street behemoth and increase its stock price. She assumed leadership of the third-largest US bank in 2021, and she confronts the difficult job of making it less hazardous and more lucrative.
Fraser reportedly conducted a town hall meeting last week, telling staff, "Get on board. We have enormous plans for this bank, and the train is going to move fast." So lean in, help us win with clients, help us deliver the changes, or get off the train, she said, according to the news reports citing those who heard the remarks. Citigroup Mistakenly Pays $900 Million to Revlon Lenders in ‘Clerical Error’, Fighting to Get Money Back.
Though Fraser has not disclosed the number of positions that management intends to slash, her reorganisation plan has indeed shocked staff. According to the Financial Times, prominent officials quit the business after the article about her reform plan appeared, including Eduardo Cruz, who runs Citi's Latin American investment banking operations.
She told investors in New York earlier this month that management had made "hard, consequential, and difficult decisions." They will not be universally popular within our bank. Some of our folks will be quite uncomfortable. That is entirely OK to me... It is absolutely the right thing to do for our shareholders, she said at the meeting, according to Reuters. Buyout Firm Actis Appoints Citigroup to Help with the Sale of Its BTE Renewables Business.
Fraser's broad overhaul is the latest move in her aim to increase earnings and simplify the bank since taking the leadership. Despite the fact that Citi has sold companies and is striving to address regulatory issues, its stock price has trailed behind its peers. The bank is still grappling with a consent order issued by regulators in 2020, which requires it to fix various "longstanding deficiencies" in its internal controls.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2023 05:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).