Citigroup tells staff to work remotely amid restructuring

The news: Citigroup has told hybrid employees that they can work remotely during the final two weeks of December this year.

The numbers: Citigroup’s hybrid employees, which account for most of the bank’s 240,000 employee workforce, were told to work remotely from Monday 18 December to Friday 29 December, according to a company memo confirmed by CNBC.

The context: Citigroup has historically taken a more flexible approach to hybrid work compared to other large lenders, and also offered the option to work remotely over the Christmas period in 2022.

However, 2023 has been a challenging year for Citigroup employees, as CEO Jane Fraser’s wide-reaching restructuring has impacted several of the bank’s business units. The project referred to internally as ‘Bora Bora’, could see around 10% of Citigroup’s workforce laid off by its completion. On Friday the bank announced it will close its municipal trading business by the end of Q1 2024. Around 100 employees were impacted by the closure.