A Massive Bank Is Now Cutting Hundreds of Jobs

March 21, 2024

A massive bank is now cutting hundreds of jobs in its investment division, people familiar with the matter are confirming.

Barclays is gearing up to lay off several hundred employees within its investment banking division, part of a long-term strategy to cut costs and boost profitability within the unit, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

The anticipated cuts are part of the company’s annual performance-based workforce reduction process and will take place in the coming months, according to the sources.

“We regularly review our talent pool to ensure that we can invest in high-performing talent, execute on our strategy, and deliver for our clients,” Barclays said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.

“However, there are no finalized numbers for this year’s review.”

The bank in January revealed that it cut 5,000 jobs last year from its workforce of 84,000 to “simplify and reshape the business” and to save £1 billion in costs — about 7% of the lender’s annual operating expenses.

Barclays went further last month, laying out a three-year plan to improve performance while cutting £2 billion in costs.

The reorganization will split the bank into five operating divisions: its U.K. retail business, U.K. corporate bank, investment bank, U.S. consumer bank, and its private bank and wealth management.

Simultaneously, Barclays pledged to return £10 billion to its shareholders over the next two years through buybacks and dividends.

The performance-based job cuts come roughly a week after Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan said his investment bankers are a step behind their counterparts in the bank’s trading division in their efforts to bolster returns for the company.

“The parts where we need greater [return on equity] efficiency is investment banking fees.

There, we are much more debt capital markets heavy than the U.S. banks are, and that’s where we’ve got to be more efficient,” Venkatakrishnan said at an investor conference, according to Bloomberg.

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Another bank now announces hundreds of unexpected layoffs in its retail operations as it transitions to online services.

Santander has cut about 320 of its U.S. roles in recent days, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg and Reuters.

Many of the layoffs are centered on the bank’s retail operations as Santander looks to give itself more of a digital focus, in line with a strategy Chair Ana Botin emphasized around this time last year at the bank’s investor day.

“Now it’s time to accelerate towards building a digital bank with branches,” Botin wrote in an Instagram post in February 2023.

Santander aims to launch a fully digital platform in the U.S. this summer in its consumer and commercial units, according to Reuters.

“We are evolving our US business, investing in digital capabilities and simplified processes to adapt to changing customer needs,” Santander said in a statement seen Sunday by Bloomberg and Reuters.

“These steps have resulted in an update to our staffing model that impacts a small percentage of our branch colleagues.

We will continue to support them throughout this process and are working to provide internal opportunities, where possible.”

The layoffs account for between 2.4% and 2.7% of Santander’s U.S.-based workforce, according to varying figures reported by the wire services.

The move comes at a time when Santander seeks to double its investment banking business in the U.S.

To that end, the bank has aimed to hire 150 employees to build out its investment banking operations in the U.S., Reuters reported in July.

Santander hired more than 100 bankers in 2023 through October, according to the Financial Times, with most of those roles in the U.S. and more than half filled by Credit Suisse alums, reports BankingDive.

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