Barclays is poised to cut as much as 10 percent of its global workforce next month as part of a broader shakeup.
New CEO Anthony Jenkins will outline his plan on Feb. 12 when the bank delivers its fourth-quarter results. The job cuts will range between 5 and 10 percent, and will be concentrated in ancillary areas in Europe and Asia, sources said.
Along with layoffs, the expectation is that Barclays will exit some businesses in its investment-banking arm to streamline operations and appease regulators.
With the UK bank still reeling from a rate-rigging scandal that forced Bob Diamond to step down as CEO, Jenkins is aiming to put his imprimatur on the firm, which has a major presence in New York after acquiring Lehman Brothers’ assets out of bankruptcy.
Jenkins, who hails from Barclays’ consumer -banking operations in the UK, is said to be on better terms with regulators than Diamond, who was viewed as a swashbuckling American banker when he took the helm of the staid British bank.
In a sign of things to come, Jenkins issued a memo yesterday to Barclays’ 140,000 staffers that emphasized ethics as part of an effort to shed its bad-bank image.
Barclays was soundly thrashed by UK regulators after the bank paid more than $450 million to settle allegations that some of its traders conspired to help rig a key interest rate, known as Libor.
Jenkins told workers they had to adhere to a new code of conduct centered on respect, integrity, service, excellence and stewardship — or leave. He also said conduct would be factored into pay .
“The rules have changed. You won’t feel comfortable at Barclays and, to be frank, we won’t feel comfortable with you as colleagues,” he wrote, referring to staffers who may not be on board with the changes.