Layoffs at Citigroup, Inc.

Eileen Alt Powell, AP Business Writer, reports Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest financial institution, said Wednesday it will eliminate about 17,000 jobs as part of a companywide restructuring to reduce costs and improve profit.

That amounts to about 5 percent of the bank's 327,000-strong work force. Citigroup said its plans include "shrinking the size of corporate centers," several of which are in New York. It also expects to move some 9,500 jobs to lower-cost locations.

Still, the elimination of the jobs won't reduce the bank's work force, but merely slow its growth, Citi executives said.

Robert Druskin, Citi's chief operating officer who developed the restructuring plan over the past three months, told a conference call with Wall Street analysts they should expect Citi's headcount to grow this year because of acquisitions and plans to open new branches, especially overseas.

"But that rate of growth will be at a significantly diminished rate," Druskin said.

Citigroup has a number of acquisitions in the works. It is expanding operations in China and earlier this month announced the purchase of a bank in Taiwan. Citi also has made a tender offer for a Japanese brokerage.