Barclays is preparing to lay off hundreds of employees in the investment banking division, in a bid to cut costs and focus on improving profits and growth.
The trimming will be carried out in the coming months and will see people being terminated basis their performance, as is the annual process. The move, as per Bloomberg, will affect employees in various arms including research, global markets, and investment banking
The British multinational universal bank is calling this just another review process, which is undertaken regularly so that only the best are retained in the talent pool. The exact number of terminations has yet to be communicated officially by the bank.
The objective of the layoffs is to enhance profitability in the investment banking division and to be able to respond to investors who have been doubting the viability of the institution’s Wall Street operations. The investment bank division is supposedly eating up more capital compared to other divisions.
Plans have been laid out to increase profitability under the guidance of CS Venkatarishnan, chief executive officer, Barclays. As part of these plans, its advisory will be given a boost. Additionally, the institution will be focusing on industries that will be most active in the near future. The aim is to ensure that the bank consumes less but contributes more, which will result in higher returns.
