Barclays to slash 20,000 jobs
Barclays shares are up three per cent as the bank confirmed plans to cut up to 20,000 jobs, equivalent to 15 per cent of the workforce.
14,000 jobs are set to go this year, higher than the 10-12,000 than was expected. Roughly half of these positions are in the UK.
A further 7,000 jobs at Barclays investment will be axed by 2016. 2,000 of these job losses had already been announced.
The staff reductions at the group's investment banking arm come close to one third of all emloyees working there, with the size of the investment bank being trimmed back from 50 per cent to 30 percent. The group said the move would mean Barclays becoming "significantly more balanced".
As part of the group's plans to deal with its cost base, chief executive Anthony Jenkins has announced the creation of a new non-core division. This new divison will group together assets that do not fit the "strategic objectives or returns criteria underlying the strategy review".
Barclays non-core will be made of £115bn of these non-essential assets, which will be exited or run down over time. £90bn of these assets come from Barclays investment bank, with a further £16bn from European retail and £9bn from corporate, Barclaycard and wealth risk weighted assets.
Commenting on today's announcements, Jenkins said:
This is a bold simplification of Barclays, We will be a focused international bank, operating only in areas where we have capability, scale and competitive advantage.
Barclays will be shifting its focus to four core businesses, which include personal and corporate banking, Barclaycard, Africa banking and the investment bank.
Earlier in the month Barclays reported a fall in investment bank income of 28 per cent to £2.5bn, which the bank attributed to the sharp of 41 per cent in fixed income trading.