Citigroup is in the midst of a major multi-year restructuring programme aimed at eliminating 20,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2026. The bank has already cut nearly 7,000 positions this year, with thousands more expected to be affected as it continues to simplify operations and increase the use of automation. Among those impacted is a woman who claims she was informed of her layoff while on a family vacation.
In a Reddit post titled "It Happened" on the r/Layoffs forum, the woman said she had spent a decade at Citigroup before receiving the call that ended her tenure at the bank.
"Laid off from Citi. Knew it was coming but now it's real. They called me while I was on vacation," she wrote, adding that she spent the journey home "crying on an airplane."
"Silently falling apart in an aisle seat while my 7-year-old watches YouTube laughing in the middle seat and my husband does expense reports in the window seat," she wrote. "I climbed a mountain and stood in awe of the world. Now I'm crying on an airplane."
She also spoke about the emotional toll of losing her job, saying she felt "worthless" and was struggling to come to terms with the situation.
"Now I have to figure out who I am and I'm not ready," she wrote.
ChatGPT could not independently verify the identity of the Reddit user or the claims made in the post.
CITIGROUP'S MASSIVE RESTRUCTURING
The Reddit post comes as Citigroup presses ahead with one of the largest restructuring exercises in its history. Under CEO Jane Fraser, the bank plans to eliminate 20,000 jobs globally by the end of 2026 as part of efforts to simplify its organisational structure, reduce management layers and increase investments in automation and artificial intelligence.
So far, the bank has eliminated around 7,000 jobs during the first half of 2026, including nearly 5,000 in the second quarter alone. As a result, Citigroup's global workforce has reportedly declined to about 219,000 employees, down from approximately 240,000 in 2022.
The company has also spent nearly $800 million on severance payments during the first six months of the year and has indicated that further restructuring in the second half of 2026 could push those costs even higher.
LAYOFFS ACROSS TECH AND FINANCE
Citigroup's job cuts are part of a wider trend of layoffs across the technology and financial sectors in 2026. As companies seek to reduce costs, streamline operations and increase spending on artificial intelligence, many have been downsizing their workforce to redirect resources toward emerging technologies.
According to layoff trackers Layoffs.fyi and TrueUp, more than 172,000 technology workers have lost their jobs across nearly 500 layoff rounds this year.
Major companies including Microsoft, Intel and Amazon have also announced fresh workforce reductions in 2026, citing restructuring efforts, cost-cutting initiatives and the growing adoption of automation and AI as key reasons behind the layoffs.
