By IANS,
New Delhi : Following the $20 billion bailout package announced by the US government, the beleaguered Citigroup Tuesday said its Indian operations were on track and that it was business as usual in terms of fresh recruitment.
“There is minimal impact in India of Citi’s global employment reduction and we continue to hire for the business in India, especially on campuses where we remain very active,” Citi Bank India’s spokesperson Indu Aishwerya Anand told IANS.
“What the media has reported with regard to job cuts are completely speculative reports and we cannot confirm any of these except to repeat that there is minimal impact in India and we continue to be strong hirers and we have many open positions,” she said.
Anand also said that Citi’s other businesses such as its retail lending arm Citi Financial was also on track and it is business as usual.
Earlier, in a statement Monday Citigroup’s global chief executive Vikram S. Pandit said: “This weekend, the US government and Citi worked together in an unprecedented way to address market confidence and the recent decline in Citi’s stock price.”
“We reached an agreement based on an innovative market solution to further strengthen our capital ratios, reduce risk, and increase liquidity,” Pandit said, adding: “We appreciate the tremendous effort by the government to assure market stability.”
He said Citigroup was committed to streamlining its business and providing outstanding banking services to clients across the globe. “We’ll continue to focus on opportunities and alternatives to further enhance the company’s overall position and value.”
The Citi Board of Directors has unanimously approved the transaction with the US government, the statement said.