CEO Victor Dodig sent a memo to staff Thursday warning of an undisclosed number of job cuts in the coming months. (The Globe and Mail)

Talking point: CIBC cited a desire to improve its efficiency ratio, a measure of expenses relative to revenue, for the cuts. The bank had wanted to hit 55 per cent by the start of this year, but fell short, at 55.6 per cent. CIBC is the fourth major Canadian bank to report layoffs recently. Last year, BMO cut five per cent of its workforce and took a $484-million pre-tax restructuring charge. RBC and TD Bank took restructuring charges of US$83 million and $154 million, respectively, in their most recent quarters. Earlier this month, BMO and RBC said they weren’t planning more cuts this year, but CIBC and TD Bank did not rule out further restructuring charges. The Canadian layoffs follow significant cuts at global banks, which exceeded 75,000 staff.