Europe Faces Layoff Storm... "Barclays to Cut Up to 2,000 Jobs"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Barclays, the largest financial holding company in the UK, is set to cut up to 2,000 jobs. This is part of the group's plan to reduce costs by ?1 billion (approximately 1.63 trillion KRW).

On the 23rd (local time), major foreign media outlets reported, citing sources, that Barclays' management is considering cutting 1,500 to 2,000 jobs to improve profitability.

This round of layoffs is part of the group's ongoing cost-cutting plan of up to ?1 billion (about 7% of annual operating expenses). In recent years, Barclays has been pursuing cost reductions through job cuts and employee bonus reductions in its retail banking and investment banking (IB) divisions.

Sources said, "Discussions about the scale of layoffs are still ongoing, and other business divisions besides retail banking and IB may be prioritized for cuts."

Barclays expanded its workforce during the pandemic, a period of unprecedented boom, by hiring new employees. The number of Barclays employees increased from 20,000 at the end of 2017 to 22,300 at the end of 2022. However, with the shift to aggressive tightening by central banks worldwide last year, soaring costs due to inflation, and growing concerns over a deepening recession, the expansion has backfired, prompting the company to begin restructuring.

Earlier, on the 6th, CNBC reported that Citigroup, a major US bank, has begun procedures to cut about 10% of its global workforce. Citibank, which has been pursuing overall workforce reductions through organizational restructuring and redeployment, has recently intensified its layoff efforts.

Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, warned of a major restructuring in September, stating, "We are undertaking a large-scale organizational overhaul and will be saying goodbye to many talented colleagues," signaling a high-intensity restructuring.

According to CNBC, the five major US banks, including Goldman Sachs, have collectively laid off 20,000 employees this year, continuing the trend of downsizing on Wall Street. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America also reduced their total workforce by 2% each.

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