BARC Barclays Plc

By Paul Clarke

Of Financial News

Barclays cut around 5,000 employees last year as the U.K. lender prepares to unveil a strategy shift after announcing a cost-cutting drive in 2023.

The bank said in a statement Tuesday that it axed thousands of jobs in 2023, after flagging a fresh cost-cutting drive during its third quarter results in October.

"Barclays removed approximately 5,000 headcount globally through 2023 as part of its ongoing efficiency program designed to simplify and reshape the business, improve service, and deliver higher returns," a spokesperson for the bank said in a statement.

The bank is expected to reveal the headcount reduction when it reports its full-year results on Feb. 20. Sky News first reported the cuts.

The job cuts were primarily within Barclays Execution Services, known as BX, and the Barclays U.K. chief operating officer function, the bank added. It is also continuing to hire front office roles, it said, having taken on scores of senior dealmakers in recent months after a number of key departures in the U.S.

Barclays is planning to cut around $1.25 billion in costs. The bank is also planning to strip out thousands of less-profitable investment banking clients as part of that push, the Financial Times reported in December.

Barclays' cuts come at a difficult time for the banking sector, which cut tens of thousands of jobs last year.

Citigroup is in the midst of a wide-ranging strategy overhaul that is likely to see further roles cut in the coming weeks, while USB's acquisition of Credit Suisse in March last year will result in thousands of redundancies as it integrates the most complex bank merger since 2008.

Financial News is owned by News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

Website: www.fnlondon.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 09, 2024 04:25 ET (09:25 GMT)

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