LTI Mindtree shares fall 5% as Citigroup plans to slash external IT contractors to 20% from 50%

The shares of IT major LTI Mindtree dropped nearly 5 percent as Citigroup said that it aims to slash its external IT contractors to 20 percent from the current 50 percent. Notably, Citibank is one of the top clients for LTI Mindtree which is set to be significantly impacted if the plan is implemented. The shares of the company were trading at a fresh 52-week low of Rs 4,239 apiece.

Citigroup's head of technology Tim Ryan had informed employees about the plan through an internal presentation seen by Reuters. He, however, didn't mention the timeline in which the group aims to implement the move. The conglomerate aims to hire thousands of employees for its IT services as it plans to reduce its dependence on IT contractors, the report added.

Citi will accordingly hire nearly 2,000 employees this year to have 50,000 employees in technology, the report said. "Citi is growing our internal technology capabilities to support our strategy to improve safety and soundness, enable revenue growth and drive efficiencies," Citi told Reuters.

Moneycontrol couldn't independently verify the report.