The reported job reductions could cut the London-based bank’s global workforce from approximately 132,000 to less than 100,000 by the end of 2017, according to The Times, which cited unidentified senior sources for details of the bank’s plans.
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The beleaguered bank said this is the only measure to turn around its flagging performance, with the aim to double its share price over the period, The Times reports.
Jenkins was promoted to chief executive of Barclays in the wake of the Libor scandal.
Under Jenkins’ leadership, the bank has already reduced its headcount by 12,000 and delivered over £2bn in costs.
Chairman John McFarlane this month assumed the day-to-day running of the bank until a successor is appointed, working particularly closely with Finance Director Tushar Morzaria.
The restructure is said to focus on automating manual processes within the retail bank, with job losses hitting staff in the bank’s middle and back office operations.
Barclays has scotched reports that it will slash more than 30,0000 jobs within two years and claimed the only roles to go are the ones it announced last May. “But it’s actually about revenue and increasing revenue growth way over the cost of capital growth”.
The paper said that a potential candidate, who would replace Jenkins, is expected to axe jobs much faster and more deeply than the ousted boss.
With the recent changes at the top management following the exit of Jenkins, there is speculation that the new CEO would be under pressure to speed up job cuts to boost bank’s bottomlines and share price.
Investors and financial analysts are likely to press for more detailed information about the bank’s turnaround plans when Barclays reports its second-quarter financial results on July 29.
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Last month, Barclays announced it would sell its U.S. wealth and investment management business to Stifel for an undisclosed fee.
