Recent layoffs at Citi spark rally

At least 80 people have been laid off this year at Citibank in Sioux Falls. Now, community members are calling for action from congressional members and the company.

Communications Workers of America held a rally to bring to light what's happening to those losing their call center jobs.

Kooper Caraway, Sioux Falls AFL-CIO President says Citi isn't answering any of the questions, as to where these jobs are being transferred.

"Basically what we want is the attention of the South Dakota congressional delegation, we want them to support and sign on to legislation that speaks to limit big banks and big cooperations to send American jobs and particularly South Dakota jobs overseas," he said.

"I used to work for Citi, it's been a long time," Brett McGovern, CWA Local 7500 vice-president, said. "But, I worked for Capital One, too, before they went overseas and there are just so many jobs, especially call center jobs going overseas."

These last layoffs come after Citi announced plans for a new headquarters in Sioux Falls.

Caraway says Citigroup is making more money, but in turn is laying people off, which he believes is not right.

"Citigroup was a major employer for a long time employed 3,000 folks here in Sioux Falls," he said. "But, today, it's about half that. What they're doing is continuing to cut costs by sending our jobs overseas."

Citibank released a statement about the rally saying, "As our customers increasingly choose to bank on digital and mobile channels, the dynamic of how we interact and serve them is changing. To align staffing with current business needs, we recently announced some customer service positions in Sioux Falls were being eliminated while others were being relocated to our operations center in Florence, Kentucky. Those affected are encouraged to explore other employment opportunities with Citi and will receive outplacement services and assistance. Citi is committed to Sioux Falls and the state of South Dakota, and we look forward to opening our new facility next year."