Vikram Pandit promised it, and now the overhaul of Citi’s IT operations looks set to kick off, as new CIO Marty Lippert takes aim at the technology budget.

In April, Pandit hinted at possible axe-wielding in Citi’s IT departments, saying, “It is clearly feasible to take 10, 15, 20% off our cost base, especially in information technology and operations.” (Financial Times)

Citi employs an army of developers – 23,000 worldwide – and spends tens of billions of dollars a year on its IT operations, which were recently centralised into a global technology and operations division.

In June, the bank announced that it was planning 6,500 investment banking redundancies – roughly 10% of its nearly 65,000 i-banking jobs globally. This follows on from the 9,000 cuts in April and the 21,000 chopped in the last year. It has a global workforce of around 350,000.

Lippert’s appointment heralds a new era for Citi’s IT division. Kevin Kessinger, the firm’s chief operations and technology officer, said Lippert will re-engineer the bank’s IT systems “by developing technology and operational platforms that are robust, agile, and cost-effective”.

The words ‘agile’ and ‘cost-effective’ understandably have techies thinking that their jobs aren’t exactly safe. However, one recruitment manager at the bank says it has so far held fire in the UK.

“While it’s true to say that it’s not the most dynamic time to be working in the IT division, we are still keen to retain the good staff we have. However, there are not a lot of new opportunities at the moment,” he admits.

Of the 28 European IT jobs advertised on Citi’s website, the vast majority of development and business analyst roles are cropping up at its technology centre in Belfast, where it is creating 145 new jobs. It’s no doubt a much cheaper way of finding talent – a senior software developer can earn a maximum of 45k in Northern Ireland, according to recruiters Brightwater.

However, if you’re looking for a job in London, the odd high-end project management and technical implementation manager position is up for grabs.

The US jobs market seems relatively buoyant, however, with 323 technology vacancies currently available.