(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc has told staff hundreds of back-office jobs are at risk as part of its push to reduce costs and boost returns.
The British lender informed workers at Barclays Execution Services of 900 potential redundancies on Tuesday, according to statement by the union Unite. The unit provides technology, operations and functional services to businesses across the group and had 22,334 full-time staff at the end of 2022, according to a UK regulatory filing.
“We are taking a number of actions to simplify and reshape the business, improve service, and deliver higher returns,” a spokesperson for Barclays said. “This includes changes to our headcount as management layers are reduced and the group improves its technology and automation capabilities.”
The move follows a report last week that the bank is looking to reduce costs across the group by as much as £1 billion ($1.3 billion) over several years.
Unite said in a statement that it was “pressing Barclays to avoid all compulsory redundancies and redeploy staff in the impacted areas of the business.”
The bank, which had 87,400 staff at the end of last year, said last month that it’s “evaluating actions to reduce structural costs to help drive future returns, which may result in material additional charges” in the fourth quarter. It will also provide an investor update alongside full-year results in February, where it is expected to unveil a fresh strategy.
The announcements comes as the lender makes redundancies in its investment bank. The bank is also exploring cutting ties with some of its less profitable investment banking clients, the Financial Times said earlier.
Read More: Barclays to Cut Hundreds of Jobs Across Trading, Investment Bank
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Author: Jan-Henrik Förster