Hedge fund cuts jobs in Bermuda

There was a fresh setback for the Bermuda jobs market when a leading US-based hedge-fund administrator confirmed plans to lay off at least 15 workers as the company re-organises its operations.

A spokesman for Citco Fund Services confirmed the job losses will be effective in January and that workers affected would be offered "generous severance packages".

The spokesman said Citco was reorganising the Bermuda office and moving functions to other Citco offices "to improve operating effectiveness".

Citco employs more than 5,000 staff in 44 countries around the world.

The company is not related to Citigroup or Citi Hedge Fund Services, which last month confirmed it was relocating 105 jobs out of Bermuda "to consolidate Citi's support functions, reduce overall expenses and create operating efficiencies".

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said after that announcement, coupled with the imminent closure of Willowbank Hotel, that the island, whose national debt has ballooned to more than US$1 billion, had become uncompetitive. The hotel closure will put 46 people out of work.