Investment bankers have crushed the dreams of “Beach’s work” after Citizing his Málaga Office

• Citi initially hired 27 junior bankers Working on your beach office on the Costa del Sol Spain in 2022, offering less payments, but a calendar softer than the weeks of 80 to 100 hours regular in the industry. The closure of the program, however, points out how the leverage may change your younger talent to businessmen.

Young investment bankers face a compensation: work by punishing the hours big money. In the middle of the postcovid battle In order to talent, however, Cytigroup He tried something different, offering some younger analysts a softer calendar and a publication on the famous Costa del Sol de España.

On Wednesday, however, Citi announced that he was chasing his office on the beach in the Andalusian city of Málaga as part of Continuous push to “simplify the company” and improve operations. Could also indicate how economic head It could push for more efficiency in industry efficiency, forcing young bankers to focus on occupational safety instead of maintaining an appearance of labor-life balance.

It is a dynamic that is continuously reproduced, Benjamin Granger, main psychologist at the online surveys tool Grasshe said Fortune. During the pandemic, it was often said: “The talent war is over and the talent has won.” Entrepreneurs have apparently gained much of this leverage, however, a trend that could continue if the economy weaken and Loans costs They are slow down.

“It’s more than a continuous war trailer,” said farmer.

In the hope of combating the combustion and attention of employees, Citi initially hired 27 analysts of more than 3,000 applicants by 2022 for the Málaga program, conform at her Financial time. At that time, its remuneration was about half of the initial salary of $ 100,000 received by colleagues in large centers such as New York, London or Frankfurt. Instead of the weeks of 80 to 100 common hours in the industry, however, they were promised afternoons and weekends without work.

Citi said that six employees from the Malaga office would leave the signature, although the more than 220 people working at their main Spanish location in Madrid will not be affected.

“Our emphasis on promoting colleague’s mobility efforts and the integration of our hubs is evident in the successful applications of many of our Malaga colleagues for the positions of our London and Paris hubs Fortune.

A battle against combustion

Manolo Falcó, the world co-head of Citi’s investment banking, had previously insisted that the program in Málaga was not a trick.

“We suffer a large number of groups like the rest of the industry,” he I talked to it Financial time By 2022. “We lose talent to private heritage and technology, so we are eager to understand if we can stop it by offering a better labor-life balance.”

But efficiency is also focus, especially as Fare uncertainty It threatens the rebound in M&A and IPO that many expected in the first days of the Trump administration. According to the income of the world investment banking has dropped 6% of the year to $ 26.2 billion, according to Preliminary data Dealogic, compared to $ 27.9 billion from the same period last year. The data showed Citi’s rates, however, jumped from $ 1.25 billion to $ 1.36 billion.

Unlike competitors They have promoted the return to the strict office, Citi allows most employees to work on a hybrid calendar with at least three days a week in the office. CEO JANE FRASER has report He said that the company’s tolerance at remote work could serve as a competitive advantage and contracting tool.

However, worries about industry working conditions have been underlined Recent tragedies. Last year, Ex -Armat Beret Leo Leo Lukenas III death of a blood clot after several weeks more than 100 hours as associated with Bank of America. In January, Carter Anthony Mcintosh, a 28 -year -old associate in Jefferies, died from a alleged drug overdose after report Working similar hours.

In 2024, annual measure Of more than 500 bankers made by Wall Street Oasis, they found that the first year’s analysts had an average of 74 hours a week.

When Citi opened his Malaga office in 2022, some argued that he was far from a real solution to the bewildering calendar that was facing many junior bankers.

“If I worked at Citibank, I would not go anywhere,” Molly Johnson-Jones, former investment banker, write In a letter to the Financial time In 2022. “Perhaps more companies adopted really flexible work and based on production departure instead of work location or hours, people could work according to their own terms, and companies should not resort to such desperate measures to avoid burning.”

This story originally presented to Fortune.com