Barclays is ‘planning to cut hundreds of jobs’ after the major bank shut seven branches this week
- Barclays planning to cut ‘hundreds of jobs’ to reduce costs sources have claimed
Barclays is drawing up plans to cut hundreds of jobs as the bank trims its costs while embarking on a wider strategy review, sources have claimed.
This comes after Barclays bank closed down seven branches this week across the UK.
The bank could cut as many as 400 jobs in its domestic retail business, a source told the Reuters news agency, but they added that the numbers were not final.
The second source said Barclays was planning investment bank cuts that were part of annual assessments of banker performance and that the two rounds of cuts were not related.
They added that some retail staff could be redeployed or take voluntary redundancy.
A Barclays spokesperson said: ‘We do not comment on speculation. We regularly review our operations to ensure we meet the evolving needs of our customers and clients in an efficient and effective way.’
Bloomberg reported earlier on Friday that the bank was weighing hundreds of job losses.
This week Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Halifax are among the latest banks to close more UK branches, which will see sites shut in areas such as London, Suffolk and Newcastle.
Barclays pulled down the shutters on four of its banks for the final time on September 1 and closed a further three today.
- London, Lower Ground Floor, The Arcade, Westfield – September 1
- Leominster, Corn Street – September 1
- Wellingborough, Market Street – September 1
- London, Putney High Street – September 1
- Barclays, St Ives – September 8
- Barclays, St Andrews – September 8
- Barclays, Haverhill – September 8
The latest closures have seen banks being accused of ‘depriving’ the elderly and vulnerable of essential services after it emerged that one in eight branches will close this year.
Britain’s biggest high street lenders have axed 424 branches this year and a further 212 are set to close by the end of December.
And a further 42 banks are earmarked for closure in 2024, data from cash machine network Link reveals.
More than half of Britain’s branch network has closed since 2015, consumer rights group Which? reveals. After around 5,600 closures, there are now just 4,000 branches remaining.
Lenders have been cutting back on sites over recent years, claiming that more customers are switching to online banking and cash use is declining as more transactions are carried out on credit and debit cards.
But critics said axing branches is ‘grossly unfair’ on elderly and vulnerable customers, as well as on small businesses and those who need face-to-face advice.
Charity Age UK has blasted the ‘continuing avalanche’ of closures, saying that while those in rural areas are hardest hit ‘those in towns and cities are not immune’.
Its director Caroline Abrahams said: ‘Being able to manage your money is key to living independently as you age, but the rush towards digital banking means millions of older people are being deprived of this, simply because they do not use computers.
‘They are perfectly capable of organising their own finances, just not online. It is grossly unfair that they are being infantilised in this way and their legitimate interests brushed aside in the pursuit of profit.’
Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan is separately embarking on a wider strategy review, amid some investor dissatisfaction at the bank’s underperformance relative to Wall Street investment banks.
Barclays’ Wall Street rivals have also cut jobs this year, as investment banking revenues are taking a long time to recover.
Morgan Stanley cut 3,000 jobs in the second quarter and Goldman Sachs this year reinstated performance ratings that usually result in firing of the worst performers. Citigroup announced it had cut 1,600 jobs in the second quarter.
