Citigroup, once the world’s largest bank (through its flagship retail bank Citibank), is now in a bailout deal involving some $20 billion injection by the US Treasury.

It is an agreement struck in a move to prevent the ailing company from continuing its slump into the financial oblivion, and straight into bankruptcy.

Recently, Citigroup has also been injected with $25 billion assistance from the US Government which was part of $700 billion rescue package – an amount not deem enough to revive the banking giant. The same government rejected Lehman Brothers’ appeal in September, causing the financial firm to go bust, and left more than 10,000 workers jobless overnight.

Buoyed by the news of the bailout plan, investors began active trading causing the world stock market to soar, with exception to the Asian markets, mostly closing lower.

While the rescue plan might sound like a good deal for many, no one would dare to answer if the bailout would eventually turn around the fate of over 50,000 Citigroup’s employees which were roped into the company’s layoff plan recently. The verdict – unlikely. The mess has gone into a new level of complexity, and staff motivation has never been lower.

Criticism and accusations have also been thrown to the top management and executives, particularly the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vikram Pandit, with some believing that the former graduate professor is the wrong choice as the head honcho. Another group went to the extent of labeling the group’s management as ‘spoilt economy graduates.’

How far the bailout deal would go to bring back the group’s good old days still remain a question.