Barclays bank cuts UK jobs

Barclays will cut jobs in the UK as part of a total reduction of 3,700 staff, after reporting a substantial drop in profits for the last 12 months.

Barclays bank reported a pre-tax profit of £246m compared with £5.9bn in 2011.

Barclays bank is cutting 1,800 posts from its corporate and investment banking arm in 2013 and another 1,900 retail and business banking in continental Europe this year. It did not break down where the cuts would be made.

The cuts come after a tough year for Barclays, when the bank suffered reputational damage, according to CEO Antony Jenkins.

“The behaviours which made headlines during the year stemmed from a period of 20 years in banking in which the sector became too aggressive, too focused on the short term and too disconnected from the needs of customers and clients, and wider society,” said Jenkins.

A year ago Barclays reduced its UK IT workforce by 422 in a move to update its IT skills base as part of a restructuring of its global technology and infrastructure division. Barclays bank said the cuts were the result of trying to adopt more innovative technology.

Meanwhile, investment bank JP Morgan is cutting about 200 jobs at an office in Swindon.