CHICAGO, April 11 (UPI) -- Citigroup Inc.'s plan to cut 17,000 jobs is the largest U.S. mass layoff outside the auto industry since 2005, an outplacement consulting firm said Thursday.
Citigroup's layoffs more than doubled U.S. financial-sector cuts to at least 33,432 from 16,432, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.
By contrast, cuts in the sector totaled 15,253 through April 2006, Challenger Gray said.
Unlike many financial job cuts this year, Citigroup's are intended to reduce costs and "are not directly related to the housing slowdown and decline in mortgage lending," Chief Executive John Challenger said.
Citigroup is also under growing pressure to increase revenue.
Before Citigroup's announced job cuts, the largest job-cut announcement outside of the automotive industry was 22,000 job cuts stemming from the June 2005 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of grocery chain Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Challenger Gray said.
