Banking giant Barclays is to cut 2100 jobs in its investment banking and wealth management businesses across the world, sources close to the company said yesterday.
Banking giant Barclays is to cut 2100 jobs in its investment banking and wealth management businesses across the world, sources close to the company said yesterday.
The development came as Barclays said it was reducing staff to match the "current market conditions".
The move represents a 7% reduction in staff numbers in the firm's Investment Banking and Investment Management (IBIM) division, which includes the Barclays Capital, Barclays Global Investors and Barclays Wealth brands.
About 500 jobs are expected to be cut in the UK, mostly in London.
However, a company spokesman said it was not anticipated that any of the firm's 16,000 employees north of the Border would face the axe.
It is understood that 1300 jobs will go at Barclays Capital, while 500 positions at Barclays Wealth will be axed. A further 370 jobs are set to go at Barclays Global Investors.
Earlier this month the bank announced that about 400 jobs would go, mainly in its Information Technology departments in Cheshire and London.
A spokesman for the bank yesterday could not confirm numbers or where job cuts may be made across the group.
However, he said: "We can confirm that we have begun a process to reduce headcount across some parts of our investment banking and investment management units to ensure that we are appropriately sized given the current market conditions.
"We will continue to hire selectively across those parts of the business that are growing."
The finance union Unite accused Barclays of failing to give workers the full picture of their plans.
Deputy general secretary Graham Goddard said: "This latest announcement of a further 500 job losses is the latest in a string of announcements by Barclays over the last few weeks.
"We have stressed to the bank that they should come clean with their staff in order to reassure them that they will not be the next victim of the bank's strategy of death by a thousand cuts."
News of the cuts at Barclays comes after reports that the merger of banking giants Merrill Lynch and Bank of America will result in as many as 2000 redundancies in their UK operations.
It has been reported that the banks are preparing to cut 30% of their combined London-based staff over the next few months, although job losses are already being seen in some departments.
The cuts reportedly come as part of a plan announced by Bank of America last month to reduce the combined global workforce by about 30,000 to 35,000 over three years.
Banks have slashed staff numbers as they struggle to shrink those parts of their businesses worst-hit by the financial crisis, particularly investment banking.
Barclays shunned a taxpayer bail-out by the UK Government in the wake of the crisis, instead raising more than £7bn through a fund-raising initiative that leaves almost a third of the bank in the hands of Middle East investors.
Barclays Capital employs about 20,500 people, while Barclays Wealth has about 8000 staff and Barclays Global Investors employs about 3800 staff.
Yesterday's development follows large-scale job losses announced by an array of well-known firms across the UK in the past three months.
It is estimated that more than 70,000 jobs have been cut since October.
Earlier this week machinery giant JCB revealed that it is to shed almost 700 jobs at sites in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham in North Wales, in addition to 1000 redundancies announced since July, after admitting it could not secure finance.
Car maker Nissan and retail giant Marks & Spencer are among other big names that have announced substantial job cuts in recent days.
