Citigroup Planning Layoffs From London Operation: Bloomberg

Citigroup is planning to lay off staff from its business in the United Kingdom, according to media reports, as the company seeks to cope with declining trading and investment banking revenue affecting the entire sector.

The bank will terminate around 70 traders and salespeople from its London outfit, according to a source who declined to be identified, cited by Bloomberg. It may also cut about 200 jobs in its operations and technology sections across Europe, the report said.

News of the proposed cuts comes ahead of Citi reporting its 2016 first quarter earnings on Friday. Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach recently suggested that trading revenue and investment banking fees would likely fall in the first quarter, while the firm also had to cope with increased costs and lackluster performance of its consumer-focussed business.

The industry as a whole has seen key revenue streams decline in recent months, with a recent survey showing revenue from trading fixed income, currencies and commodities — known as FICC — fell 9 percent in 2015 compared with a year before.

The proposed job cuts at Citigroup are the latest in a series of layoffs the bank has pursued since the 2008 financial crisis. Reports have been circulating since late 2015 that thousands of jobs were to be cut at the lender, but thus far, no official announcement has been made. The bank had 231,000 workers at the end of 2015, down almost 40 percent from 2007.

In further bad news for Citi employees, a recent report from the bank suggested that banking automation could spur a 30 percent decline in banking jobs across the U.S. and Europe, which would amount to around 2 million job losses.