Citi employees suggest the most recent round of job cuts was poorly timed

Citigroup is still chipping away at its program of 20,000 job cuts, but insiders at the bank complain that the timing of the most recent round of cuts wasn't great. 

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As Citi removes its jobs in increments, it's understood that last week's cuts coincided with the start of Ramadan, the month-long holy fasting period observed by Muslims which this year began on Sunday, March 10th. 

When Citi's Muslim staff arrived at work on Monday 11th, sources at the bank say they were informed that jobs were being cut as part of the next round of layoffs. "People were told they were at risk and in danger of being made redundant in 30 days," says one insider, complaining that Citi didn't take into consideration that it was Ramadan and that Muslims observing the fast weren't even able to have a sip of water upon hearing that they were losing their jobs. 

Some complained that Citi wouldn't have made cuts on days that are significant in the Christian calendar. "We were told that this wouldn't be an issue because those are all Bank Holidays," says one. 

Citi is due to finish its first round of layoffs, impacting 5,000 managerial jobs, by the end of March. Thereafter, it plans to cut 5,000 jobs from selling businesses and 10,000 jobs from cutting people in areas like technology and operations. 

Citi has taken pride on cutting staff very deliberately and making sure it gets the cuts right. However, some are getting impatient with the process. "I can't understand why they're dragging this out," says one recently ex-employee. "It's terrible for morale."

While Citi continues to cut staff, some of the people it let go in recent rounds of cuts are resurfacing. Richard Evans, a former MD and global head of trade asset distribution has followed colleague Marcus Satha and is writing children's stories. Bob DeMichiel, a former MD on the municipal bond desk, has arrived at Bank of America. 

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