Citibank Korea Inc., the South Korean unit of U.S.-based Citigroup, has cut 199 jobs through a voluntary retirement program in an apparent bid to reduce costs amid recent economic woes, industry sources said Monday.
The number of employees who departed through the program amounts to about 4.3 percent of the lender's workforce of some 4,600, and the financial firm is considering additional measures to prepare for a prolonged economic downturn, according to industry officials.
"The early retirement program was implemented in light of the current slump in the local financial industry," a Citibank official said. "We will work to boost managerial efficiency down the road."
The job reduction comes as foreign financial groups here have been suffering from weak performance stemming from the global economic downturn, with both their overseas-based headquarters and Seoul offices seeing profits worsen.
The market share of Citibank Korea based on its total amount of loans stood at 2.2 percent as of the end of June, down from 2.3 percent a year earlier.
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