Citigroup has announced it’s cutting 11,000 job worldwide in the next year or two in an effort to slim down and increase efficiency.

The cuts make up about 4 percent of the total Citigroup workforce, according to Karen Petrou, a banking analyst at Federal Financial Analytics.

The company, which employs more Americans than any other bank, sees the measures as necessary to help cut costs in wasteful areas, Petrou says.

“They’re trying to get a handle on unproductive costs… areas where businesses could be more efficient, and in some cases, businesses where the rules are changing and their structure doesn’t work as well as it used to.”

But it isn’t just Citigroup feeling the strain on resources. “The industry across the board is under considerable profit pressure,” Petrou adds. “Every big bank is looking under every cover to find areas where it can improve efficiency, and therefore profitability.”