Ronald Reagan is credited with saying, "Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours." Sadly, it is depression time for nearly 73K Citibank employees who have lost their jobs within the past year (23k prior to today, and another 50k announced this morning). I do not think the general public knows how bad it truly is out there. Sure they hear the news, but just exactly how the news relates to them is often a mystery, until it is too late for them.
If you have a job, keep it, do everything you can do to be a model employee to make the cuts that will be coming. If you are looking for a new job, do not let go of your old job until you have a new one firmly in place. If you have lost your job, consider where the new economy is headed and dont be afraid to move your ground. In looking at my own family history, in the Great Depression, my grandfather moved from the Detroit area to California where there was more opportunity -- where are the opportunity areas today? Put your thinking caps on and get there sooner, wherever 'there' is.
From Bloomberg news we read this morning -- http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a13FLUOxOAyw&refer=us
"Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank with the most employees, plans to eliminate more than 50,000 jobs and cut expenses by 20 percent from their peak as the global economy contracts. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit intends to reduce headcount by about 14 percent to 300,000 in the ``near term,'' according to a presentation on the firm's Web site today. Pandit has already cut 23,000 jobs, leaving the New York-based bank with 352,000 employees as of Sept. 30. Citigroup slumped 19 percent in New York trading last week and is down 68 percent this year, after four straight quarterly losses totaling $20 billion. The fourth-biggest U.S. bank by market value will probably post a loss of about $187 million for the fourth quarter, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated. "
In terms of others within the banking sector, Bloomberg news reported the following,
"Banks and brokerages worldwide have announced more than 200,000 job cuts since the subprime mortgage market's collapse last year sparked a credit crisis. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which converted last month from the biggest U.S. securities firm into a commercial bank, began earlier this month telling about 3,200 employees, or 10 percent of its workforce, they were out of a job, according to a person familiar with the decision. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and rivals such as Merrill Lynch & Co. have been reducing staff as the revenue outlook dims for banks and securities firms. Most major global stock indexes have dropped more than 25 percent this year, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down 40 percent. The International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook forecast last month that global growth will weaken to 3 percent in 2009, from 3.9 percent this year and 5 percent in 2007. "
If you have a job, keep it, do everything you can do to be a model employee to make the cuts that will be coming. If you are looking for a new job, do not let go of your old job until you have a new one firmly in place. If you have lost your job, consider where the new economy is headed and dont be afraid to move your ground. In looking at my own family history, in the Great Depression, my grandfather moved from the Detroit area to California where there was more opportunity -- where are the opportunity areas today? Put your thinking caps on and get there sooner, wherever 'there' is.
From Bloomberg news we read this morning -- http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a13FLUOxOAyw&refer=us"Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank with the most employees, plans to eliminate more than 50,000 jobs and cut expenses by 20 percent from their peak as the global economy contracts. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit intends to reduce headcount by about 14 percent to 300,000 in the ``near term,'' according to a presentation on the firm's Web site today. Pandit has already cut 23,000 jobs, leaving the New York-based bank with 352,000 employees as of Sept. 30. Citigroup slumped 19 percent in New York trading last week and is down 68 percent this year, after four straight quarterly losses totaling $20 billion. The fourth-biggest U.S. bank by market value will probably post a loss of about $187 million for the fourth quarter, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated. "
In terms of others within the banking sector, Bloomberg news reported the following,
"Banks and brokerages worldwide have announced more than 200,000 job cuts since the subprime mortgage market's collapse last year sparked a credit crisis. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which converted last month from the biggest U.S. securities firm into a commercial bank, began earlier this month telling about 3,200 employees, or 10 percent of its workforce, they were out of a job, according to a person familiar with the decision. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and rivals such as Merrill Lynch & Co. have been reducing staff as the revenue outlook dims for banks and securities firms. Most major global stock indexes have dropped more than 25 percent this year, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down 40 percent. The International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook forecast last month that global growth will weaken to 3 percent in 2009, from 3.9 percent this year and 5 percent in 2007. "
