Barclays Plans to Trim IB Workforce by More Than 200 to Reduce Costs

Barclays PLC BCS intends to reduce 3% of its workforce in the investment banking (IB) division in the upcoming days. This is part of CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan’s plan to boost the division’s profitability. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Details of Barclays’ Job Cut Plan

More than 200 employees in IB, global markets and research will likely be affected. These would also include managing directors, among the most senior roles.
 
These job cuts aim to expand the bank’s capability to invest in priority areas, one of the people familiar with the matter stated. Barclays has been focused on gaining market share in European rates, equity derivatives and securitized product trading. During its investor update last year, the company stated that these efforts are anticipated to boost revenues by £500 million by 2026.

In IB, the company is aiming to grow its revenues from equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions, with a specific focus on the health care, industrial, technology, and energy transition sectors.

While it is prioritizing growth in other areas, Barclays remains committed to its transatlantic IB model, despite ongoing investor pressure over the years.

A Barclays spokesperson stated, “Like other banks, we regularly assess our talent pool as part of our routine operations to ensure ongoing investment in key focus areas.”

Rationale Behind Barclays’ Move

This move aligns with Barclays’ ongoing efforts to improve efficiency through streamlining business operations and focusing on core businesses.

In April 2025, it announced a collaboration with Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. to transform its payment acceptance business. Further, in February 2025, it divested its Germany-based consumer finance business. In November 2024, the company acquired Tesco’s retail banking business and changed its operating divisions effective in the first quarter of 2024.

Over the past six months, Barclays shares have gained 36.3% compared with the industry’s growth of 23.1%.

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Currently, BCS carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Streamlining Efforts by Other Global Banks

Last week, a source familiar with the matter said that Citigroup C will cut about 3,500 jobs at two of its technology centers in China by the start of the fourth quarter of 2025. The reduction will take place at the China Citi Solution Centres in Shanghai and Dalian.

Most of the jobs that are being cut are full-time. Citigroup mentioned that some of the roles would be moved to its technology centers elsewhere without specifying the number of jobs or locations.

The move is part of the bank’s strategy to simplify and reduce its global technology operations to improve data management.

Similarly, after shutting its retail banking business in the United States in 2021, HSBC Holdings PLC HSBC is now set to close its business banking division in the country. This announcement comes amid the company’s ongoing business simplification efforts and accelerated shift toward the Asia and Middle East regions. This was first reported by Reuters.

This move will likely affect nearly 4,500 HSBC clients. The bank will aid the impacted clients in transitioning to a suitable alternative provider and will continue to serve some clients in the Mid-Market and Global Network Banking Business.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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