Citigroup analysts predict gold will reach $3,000 within six to 18 months, with more buyers piling in amid Fed rate cut hopes and geopolitical tensions.
Source link
Citigroup told most of its employees that they can work remotely the final two weeks of December, CNBC has learned.
Workers can log in remotely from anywhere in their country of employment from Monday to Dec. 29, a Friday, making this week the last in-person experience this year for many staffers, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The policy applies to hybrid workers, which make up the majority of the bank’s 240,000 employees, said the people, who declined to be identified.
Unlike last year, when the perk was introduced, employees are on edge over CEO Jane Fraser’s sweeping corporate reorganization, and some expressed concern over whether their jobs will still exist next year. Citigroup has said that Fraser’s review of the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets will be complete by the end of March.
The project, known internally by its code name Bora Bora, has already resulted in executive departures and the shuttering of the firm’s municipal bond business. Citigroup will disclose severance expenses tied to the project in January and again in April, the bank has said.
“This past year has been one of significant change across the firm, and as we approach the end of 2023, we look forward to this special time of year,” Citigroup’s human resources chief said last week in a staff memo announcing the remote policy.
“We hope that you will enjoy a break from commuting while continuing to stay focused on closing out the year,” the HR chief said.
Read more: Citigroup considers deep job cuts for CEO Jane Fraser’s overhaul, called ‘Project Bora Bora’
Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup Inc., during an interview for an episode of “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations” at the Economic Club of Washington in Washington, D.C., March 22, 2023.
Valerie Plesch | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Citigroup will soon begin layoffs in CEO Jane Fraser’s corporate overhaul, CNBC has learned.
Employees affected by the cuts will be informed starting Wednesday, with new dismissals announced daily through early next week, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Those impacted will include chiefs of staff, managing directors and some lower-level employees, said the people. The cuts will spread to more rank-and-file staff by February, they added.
The move tracks with a timeline set by Fraser in a Sept. 13 memo. She announced five new divisions whose heads report directly to her, resulting in the departure of a handful of senior executives. The next phase of disruption will be “communicated and implemented by the end of November,” and “final changes” will be done by the end of March 2024, Fraser said at the time.
Fraser is under pressure to improve Citigroup, which has been mired in a stock slump as headcount and expenses have ballooned in recent years. The CEO, who took over in March 2021, is at a pivotal moment as she faces deep investor skepticism that the bank can hit performance targets she outlined last year.
Employees who have lost their roles may be able to apply for other positions, and Citigroup will offer severance pay where eligible, the company’s human resources chief told workers last month.
The full extent of job cuts is still being determined, but managers and consultants working on the project — known internally by its code name, “Project Bora Bora” — have discussed dismissals of at least 10% of workers in several businesses, CNBC reported last week.
New Citigroup organizational charts have been created, and managers are now deciding which employees they will retain and who will be left out, said one of the people.
Workers have flocked to internal chat platforms with questions about the impending cuts, according to the people, who declined to be identified speaking about personnel matters.
A Citigroup spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday beyond the statement it offered to CNBC previously:
“We’ve acknowledged the actions we’re taking to reorganize the firm involve some difficult, consequential decisions, but they’re the right steps to align our structure to our strategy and deliver the plan we shared at our 2022 Investor Day.”
Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.’s stock fell 1.7% premarket Monday, after Citigroup opened a downside 30-day catalyst watch for the stock.
The move comes as investors await a chancery court decision that’s expected to clear the way for the company to convert its AMC Preferred Equity units
APE,
known as APEs, into common stock. The APEs were unchanged in premarket trades Monday.
Related: AMC shares fall, while APE units rise as stock-conversion battle reaches Delaware Chancery Court
AMC
AMC,
shareholders voted in support of the company’s proposal to convert the APEs in March, but the company was then hit with a class-action lawsuit. AMC subsequently reached an agreement to settle the court fight but a chancery judge must approve the settlement proposal after a two-day hearing last week. A ruling is expected within weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.
On Thursday an AMC shareholder opposed to the settlement told the court that some investors felt the cinema chain had “stabbed them in the back,” Reuters reported.
Related: AMC shares make biggest gain in nearly three months ahead of stock-conversion hearing
Citigroup is expecting a ruling in favor of the proposal. “As a result, we would expect the value of AMC common units and APE units to converge,” analysts wrote in a note. “Given AMC’s common units trade at a premium to the APE units, we would expect downward pressure on AMC shares in the coming days.”
Last week shares of AMC made their biggest gain in nearly three months ahead of the stock conversion hearing. Shares of the movie-theater chain and meme-stock darling have risen 8.1% in 2023, while the APEs have risen 23.4%.
Related: Largest investor in AMC’s APE stock sells again, cuts stake to below 10%
Of eight analysts surveyed by FactSet, three had a hold rating and five had a sell rating for AMC.