Citi cuts - more myth than reality?

Rumour has it that Citibank is on the verge of cutting tens of thousands of jobs. But Irish employees should avoid the axe.

A spokeswoman for the bank tells us reports that Citi is gearing up for making 15,000 (or more) job cuts following a review of its cost base are totally unfounded. She adds that there are no impending redundancies in either Citibank's Dublin or Belfast offices.

Rob McIvor, director of corporate affairs at Citigroup, says it's more down to streamlining than hacking away at jobs, and that to say there will be job losses is "highly speculative". He professes, "I have no clue where the numbers reported have come from," adding that all will be revealed on 16 April, when Citigroup issues its quarterly results and will report any changes to the business.

Citigroup currently employs 1,400 people in Dublin in client services, fund administration, trustee services, compliance monitoring and accounting roles. It employs more than 130 people in Northern Ireland and recently announced 100 new jobs in the province, with plans to create up to 200 more over the next four years.

For the moment at least, it seems to be expanding rather than trimming its Irish workforce. The company's website is currently advertising 74 vacancies in Dublin and 9 in Belfast.

According to Robert Walters' annual salary survey, settlement analysts can expect salaries of €27k to €70k plus bonus, depending on experience, while treasury accountants can earn €48k to €80k plus bonus.