Barclays plans to cut about 5,000 jobs, roughly 5 per cent of its global workforce, by the end of 2026, as it uses artificial intelligence and automation to bring down costs. About 1,000 of the reductions were made in the first half of the year.
The bank said around 60 per cent of the cuts would fall on support functions, including software developers, as part of what it called "organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI".
Results
The announcement came alongside third-quarter results on Thursday, 22 October. Profit attributable to shareholders rose 13 per cent to £1.65bn, from £1.46bn a year earlier, and group income rose 3 per cent to £7.37bn. Equities trading income jumped 47 per cent, while fixed income trading was weaker. Barclays also announced a £500m share buyback.
The chief executive, C. S. Venkatakrishnan, said the investment bank had "delivered strong equities performance". The shares edged lower in London.
Questions for investors
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the results had missed expectations and pointed to two clouds over the bank: an expected increase in taxes on the UK banking sector, and scrutiny of its lending to private credit funds. The Financial Times has reported that the Bank of England is examining claims that Barclays understated those risks; Barclays says its exposure is treated in line with accounting and regulatory requirements.
Will Howlett, an analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said the key question was whether the bank could turn its technology investment and smaller workforce into sustainably lower costs.
