Barclays CEO Says Job Cuts Are in Line With Industry

Barclays Plc plans to cut hundreds of jobs, following many other financial institutions that have done the same.

CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan told CNBC Monday (Sept. 11) that these workforce plans are in line with the broader financial industry, emphasizing that what is happening at Barclays is no different than what is happening elsewhere, Bloomberg reported Monday.

“We always continually modulate and modify that work force,” Venkatakrishnan said.

Bloomberg had reported last week, citing unnamed sources, that Barclays is planning to cut hundreds of jobs, dismissing around 5% of client-facing staff in the trading division and some dealmakers globally as part of its cost-cutting measures.

Venkatakrishnan told CNBC that the cuts are part of a generational shift within the bank and that departures of top bankers are a natural result of this overhaul, according to the Bloomberg report. He also mentioned that the bank is still actively hiring amid the departures.

Banks slashed more than 15,000 jobs in the later months of 2022, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse being among those making job cuts, PYMNTS reported in January. Industry experts said at the time that they expected other banks to make similar moves.

Observers attributed the cuts to banks over-hiring during the previous two or three years, and managers seeking to reduce costs and maintain a reasonable return.

In one of the workforce reductions made in recent months, JPMorgan Chase cut about 15% of the positions at First Republic Bank after acquiring that financial institution on May 1 after it had been struggling for weeks.

JPMorgan’s acquisition came after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) took over First Republic Bank amid the second-biggest banking collapse since 2008.

Two months earlier, in March, Bank of America shifted fewer than 200 employees from its wealth management and lending unit, with most being redeployed to other parts of the bank and a handful being laid off. A bank spokesperson said at the time that talent was being realigned to areas of greatest need.

The move came as higher interest rates have dampened business on Wall Street, hiring has slowed across the lending industry, and Wells Fargo and JPMorgan cut thousands of jobs in their home lending units.