Citigroup to cut 11,000 jobs

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NEW YORK, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. financial giant Citigroup said it would shutter dozens of branch offices and cut 11,000 jobs in an effort to trim operation expenses.

The bank said it would take a pretax charge of $1 billion on the reductions, as it closed 14 branch offices in Brazil, seven in Hong Kong, 4 in Hungary, 15 in Korea and 44 in the United States.

"These actions are logical next steps in Citi's transformation. While we are committed to -- and our strategy continues to leverage -- our unparalleled global network and footprint, we have identified areas and products where our scale does not provide for meaningful returns," said the bank's new Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat in a statement.

Corbat replaced Vikram Pandit, who steered the bank through the financial crisis, but was fired in October.

Corbat said Citigroup would "further increase our operating efficiency by reducing excess capacity and expenses, whether they center on technology, real estate or simplifying our operations."

The bank said 6,200 jobs would be cut from its global consumer banking operations, while another 2,300 jobs would be trimmed from technology and support services. In addition, 350 Citi Holdings positions will be cut, as well as 300 in global function and 1,900 in securities and transaction services.