Citigroup (C) Fires 4,500

According to media reports, Citigroup (NYSE: C) will fire 4,500 people

MarketWatch reports

The bank will make the cuts which are less than 2% of its workforce, in an effort to trim costs, , citing Chief Executive Vikram Pandit at an investor conference in New York. Citi will reportedly take a $400 million charge in the fourth quarter for the cuts

Layoffs has become commonplace at large American financial firms. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) announced that it will cut 30,000 workers. Several foreign banks with US operation have disclosed cuts due to balance sheet problems.

Premier American investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has announced over 1,000 layoffs.

Most experts expects cuts to begin as banks deal with low trading profits, difficulty with mortgage assets, and potential write-offs of sovereign paper

Douglas A. McIntyre