FEARS over potential job cuts at Deloitte and Citigroup threatened to dampen the mood at the Northern Ireland Investment Summit in Belfast.
As hundreds of delegates were being told of the benefits of investing in the north, staff at Deloitte were being briefed of potential job cuts on Wednesday afternoon.
The professional services group, which employs around 1,000 people in the north, has launched a consultation process that could see 3 per cent of UK jobs at risk of redundancy.
It’s understood staff were informed during an ‘all hands’ call at 2pm, with all but legal and tax employees affected.
Meanwhile, Citi, the main partner for the Northern Ireland Investment Summit, also signalled it will cut jobs across its global operation on Wednesday.
As the group’s European chief executive David Livingstone was addressing delegates at the ICC Belfast, Citigroup’s global CEO Jane Fraser was announcing a corporate reorganisation involving cuts to management layers and jobs.
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Citi employ around 240,000 people worldwide, including 4,000 in Northern Ireland.
There was no indication on where the jobs could be lost, but it’s understood staff were advised in a memo that the process could be completed by the first quarter of 2024.
According to Bloomberg, the memo stated: “We’ll be saying goodbye to some very talented and hard-working colleagues who have made important contributions to our firm.”
Commenting on its planned redundancies, Deloitte chief execute Richard Houston said: “Today we announced some targeted restructuring across our businesses, which may – subject to consultation – put some roles at risk of redundancy.
“This follows a slowdown in growth, which, combined with the ongoing economic uncertainty, means we have to consider the shape of our business and may mean we have to make some difficult decisions.
“I fully understand this is an unsettling time for those people affected and we will be doing everything we can to support individuals with care and respect.”
