In a bid to cut costs, Barclays, the British lender, is expected to lay off about a 100 senior employees. It is reported that most of the targeted employees hold positions as directors and managing directors, in the trading division of the investment bank across London and Asia, although the news is not confirmed.
Next month, the Bank is to reveal its annual report, and it has done better than its rivals in Q3 owing to better revenue from fixed-income and equities trading. However, the Bank realises that there are bigger challenges ahead, for which cost cutting has become necessary.
In 2018, the workforce at Barclays was more than 83,000 strong.
However, the layoff plan does not come as a surprise because bank employees, in general, are being laid off across the globe. This is because, the balance sheets of banks have not been looking bright owing to negative interest rates, political instability and trade war-related risks and uncertainties across the world. s on a global level have all played their part in eroding banks’ balance sheets, along with interest rate cuts which further reduce margins.
Last year, many banks in Europe opted to downsize, with as many as 80,000 being rendered jobless. Lenders have been restructuring their securities divisions, in an attempt to do away with redundancy and duplication in the face of increasing competition from American banks and the economic slowdown.
