Barclays’ bid to cut costs saw 5,000 jobs axed in 2023
British bank Barclays axed around 5,000 jobs globally over 2023 in a bid to streamline the business and reduce costs.
Barclays cut 5,000 jobs in 2023
Confirming the news with FinTech Futures, a Barclays spokesperson says the cuts were part of its “ongoing efficiency programme”, which aims to “simplify and reshape the business, improve service, and deliver higher returns”.
“The majority of the individuals impacted are within Barclays’ support function, Barclays Execution Services ‘BX’, and the Barclays UK Chief Operating Officer function, as management layers are reduced and the Group improves its technology and automation capabilities,” the spokesperson adds.
Speculation of potential job cuts first arose late last year after the bank’s Q3 results revealed a 16% drop in its Q3 profits. CS Venkatakrishnan, group chief executive of Barclays, said the bank would be looking for “efficiencies” in a push to bring down “structural costs”, with reports at the time suggesting a smaller figure of between 1,500 to 2,000 job cuts were being considered as part of a £1 billion cost-cutting plan.
The Barclays spokesperson states that the bank is “supporting impacted colleagues with training, advice, and outplacement services”, adding it is also actively creating capacity to “selectively hire” front office roles in key business areas.
Barclays joins the long list of banks and financial service companies who reduced their headcount in 2023 to withstand the economic headwinds of the year.
As outlined in Fintech Futures‘ yearly review, job cuts that dominated headlines last year include PayPal’s axing of 2,000 positions and the trimming of 40% of Synapse’s workforce.
