Mumbai, Nov. 21: Several senior Citigroup managers in India are on their way out and more than 500 employees have been made redundant, sources said today.

No official confirmation was available, but the reports are sending a frisson of fear through the organisation just a day after its South Asia CEO Sanjay Nayyar put in his papers and opted to head the Indian operations of US-based private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Some international media reports pegged the redundancies at 1,000.

The managers’ exodus came amid reports that Citigroup headquarters could consider several options, including sale of parts of the company or a merger with another firm. Goldman Sachs and State Street Bank of the US are being touted as potential partners.

Speculation rippled through banking circles during the day that Citigroup’s head of equities, Brian Brown, and head of consumer banking, P.S. Jayakumar, were leaving the organisation.

Sources close to Citibank also said that Ravi Banta, a director-level official in corporate banking, Sandeep Soni, a former CitiFinancial head, and the legal counsel of retail banking were among the senior managers who were cutting their ties with the bank.

But the group’s spokesperson refused to confirm the departure of the top executives. He was equally non-committal when asked whether Citigroup had axed 1,000 jobs in India.

On Monday, Citigroup chief executive Vikram Pandit announced the organisation would slash 52,000 jobs worldwide. “We have said before that we are expecting minimum impact in India. We continue to hire for business, especially in campuses where we are active,” he added.

The sources said the job cuts were being made across businesses like commercial banking, consumer banking, private banking and treasury operations. Most of those who received the pink slips were mid-level employees.

CitiFinancial, the non-banking finance company that offers personal and home loans, is believed to have laid off a large number of employees but the spokesperson refused to comment.

After the announcement of Nayyar’s departure, it was widely expected that several senior managers would also leave the organisation.

As the financial crisis swept across the globe, the first wave of job losses hit brokerages and investment banks operating in the country. Now, foreign-bank employees — a much-envied tribe in the financial sector — are facing the axe.