NEW YORK -- Banking giant Citigroup will slash 53,000 jobs and cut expenses by 20 percent in the coming months, company CEO Vikram Pandit told employees in a global town hall meeting Monday.

The 53,000 job cuts are in addition to the 22,000 already being eliminated from Citigroup Inc.'s 375,000-member work force as of the end of 2007.

Citigroup, the nation's second largest bank by assets behind JPMorgan Chase, has been one of the hardest hit financial institutions during the credit crisis.

Over the past four quarters, the company has lost more than $20 billion, due in large part to its ill-timed bets on the U.S. housing market.

A company spokesman said Monday that about half of the expected work force reductions will come from business sales. Citigroup already announced that it was selling Citi Global Services and its German retail banking business, accounting for about 18,000 jobs. Citi is planning to sell other businesses, too, but has not announced them yet.

The other half of the work force reductions will come from layoffs and attrition, the spokesman said.

Citigroup is among nine banks, including JPMorgan Chase, that have received $125 billion in government bailout help.