Barclays has cut around 5,000 jobs from its global workforce in an attempt to slash costs.
According to Sky News, a quarter of the headcount reduction in 2023 took place in the UK. Jobs were cut through a combination of redundancies, a hiring freeze and decisions not to fill vacant positions.
Barlcays, which says it employs approximately 85,000 people in over 40 countries, is supporting the affected staff with training, advice and outplacement services.
The 5,000 figure is more than double the headcount reduction that was reportedly being considered by Barclays last year.
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A Barclays spokesperson said that the majority of the jobs affected are within its support function, Barclays Execution Services, and the Barclays UK chief operating officer function.
The spokesperson said management layers were being reduced, and the firm was looking to improve its technology and automation capabilities.
“Barclays removed approximately 5,000 headcount globally through 2023 as part of its ongoing efficiency programme designed to simplify and reshape the business, improve service and deliver higher returns,” the spokesperson said. “The group is also creating capacity to selectively hire front office roles in key businesses.”
Barclays Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan had previously indicated that it would look for efficiencies and productivity gains in different parts of the bank.
He said in October: “We always modulate the size of our workforce everywhere in the world in which we are, and that’s what we will continue to do.”
Rival banks and building societies including Lloyds Banking Group, Metro Bank and Nationwide have also been considering redundancies.
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