Citigroup to shed 1,000 at Nikko

Citigroup Inc, the US bank that's eliminating 52,000 jobs worldwide, will shed about 1,000 workers at its retail brokerage unit in Japan, two company officials said.

The workers at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc, which employs about 7,000 people, accepted Citigroup's offer to take early retirement by a Dec 8 deadline, the officials said, declining to be identified because a public announcement hasn't been made.

Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit plans to eliminate about one-seventh of the lender's global workforce of 352,000 through job cuts and asset sales after racking up more than $67 billion in losses amid the global credit crisis. The company is cutting jobs in investment banking and consumer finance in Japan and is selling its local trust banking unit.