Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser warns of job cuts and says it’s time to raise the bar in memo to staff

In the memo, previously reported by Bloomberg, Fraser told Citi’s roughly 200,000‑plus employees “the bar is raised” and stressed performance will be judged on outcomes rather than intentions or long hours.

“We are not graded on effort. We are judged on our results,” she wrote, adding she expects “the last vestiges of old, bad habits” to disappear as the bank pursues a leaner, more commercially aggressive culture in 2026. The language marks one of her sharpest internal messages since she took over in 2021, underscoring a shift from transformation planning to execution.​

Fraser’s approach also demonstrates why Fortune contributor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the Lester Crown professor of leadership practice at the Yale School of Management, chose the Citi CEO as one of his top performers of 2025. Fraser’s “Project Bora Bora” restructuring resulted in full-year revenues tracking toward $84 billion in 2025, the highest since 2010, with records for all five business segments in the last quarter. The latest earnings quarter saw all five business segments hit quarterly records. The stock’s performance ranking, up 67% in 2025, made it the best among major U.S. banks, in a year when Fraser was elected Chair of the Citigroup Board of Directors and was named Euromoney “Banker of the Year 2025.”

1,000 jobs now, 20,000 over time

Citigroup is poised to eliminate about 1,000 positions this week, as previously reported by Bloomberg, a move that follows earlier rounds of layoffs and brings the bank closer to a broader plan to cut roughly 20,000 jobs by 2026, or about 8% of its global workforce, according to people familiar with the matter. The reductions are tied to a sweeping restructuring unveiled in early 2024 that aims to simplify management layers, streamline businesses, and deliver up to $2.5 billion in cost savings. Citi has already shed more than 10,000 roles under Fraser’s overhaul.​

Culture reset on Wall Street

Fraser’s memo signals a cultural reset at a bank long criticized for lagging behind rivals on profitability and efficiency, and she explicitly called time on what she describes as legacy behaviors that dulled Citi’s competitive edge. She urged bankers to adopt a more “commercial mindset,” telling staff to “ask for the business,” fight for a “full wallet” with clients, and stop settling for secondary roles or missed opportunities.

Automation, AI, and ‘roles no longer required’

The job cuts are being accelerated by investments in automation and artificial intelligence that are changing how work is done across the bank. Fraser told employees and investors as Citi completes more than 80% of its massive “Transformation” program, technology and process simplification will mean some roles evolve, new positions appear and “others will no longer be required.” Outgoing CFO Mark Mason said he expects headcount to keep falling this year as AI tools and streamlined processes take hold, even as Citi continues to hire top talent in key areas like investment banking.​

High stakes for 2026

Fraser has framed 2026 as the year a “more disciplined, more confident, winning Citi” must fully emerge, arguing the transformation and painful cuts are laying the foundation for stronger, more consistent returns. But the strategy carries high stakes: Citi must prove to investors the layoffs, technology spending, and cultural shake‑up can close its long‑standing performance gap with Wall Street rivals while maintaining morale among the staff she is now bluntly reminding that effort alone will not be enough.

For this story, Fortune journalists used generative AI as a research tool. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.