Regarding Citigroup's decision to withdraw its retail finance sector from the Korean market, Citibank Korea's labor union protested, saying it could not accept a unilateral announcement.
It plans to withdraw its retail banking business from 13 countries, including Korea, Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam but to leave investment banks such as corporate finance.
Citibank Korea's labor union said in a statement on April 16th, "We cannot acknowledge the hasty and unilateral announcement of its headquarters in New York. We will unite with our employees to launch a strong struggle."
"Even though the management had already recognized the announcement a few days ago, they continued to act falsely until the day," the union said. "We demand an immediate resignation of the management with a stern warning."
The union pointed out that Citigroup has taken 2.9 trillion won ($2.6 billion) from Citibank Korea over the past 10 years in the form of dividends and service expenses, but has not proceeded with new public recruitment during that period.
It said, "There are about 2,500 employees in consumer finance, including about 940 staffs at branches. If it pushes for the sale or withdrawal, massive unemployment will occur."
Noting that customer inconvenience is already being caused, the union said, "Customer inquiries about deposited assets are flooding and withdrawals are occurring at each branch."
"As the 2020 wage negotiations are still underway and final negotiations are scheduled on May 19, we expect an application for mediation by the Central Labor Commission," union leader Jin Chang-geun said. "And legal disputes, including general strikes, will be possible in a month."