In a bid to boost sales and streamline costs, Barclays’ new Chief Executive, Jes Staley, orders 1,200 job cuts worldwide, the Guardian has reported. The British bank is also pulling out of several Asian countries, including South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Under Staley, who took to the helm at the end of last year, Barclays will also withdraw from Australia and Russia, although banking services will still be offered for these countries from other locations.
The lender’s latest announcement comes after it axed a further 7,000 jobs in 2015.
Furthermore, Barclays will wind down on its equity sales worldwide by withdrawing from several countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, while in Brazil it plans to cease onshore markets coverage.
That said, offices in Asian hubs Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, India and China will be kept open in order to maintain the bank’s prime brokerage and derivatives business in the region. Moreover, according to Reuters, the bank also aims to explore precious metal markets in the coming year.
Given the ongoing challenging global environment facing financial institutions in 2016, lenders continue to slash jobs across the board, with the number now exceeding 130,000 since last June in Europe alone. Unstable equity and commodity markets have also prompted this drastic response as profits continue to disappoint in these business lines.
Barclays has not yet confirmed the total number of jobs it plans to axe, however more information will be given regarding the bank’s new strategy when end of year results are published on March 1.
