Layoffs Watch '14: Barclays

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It's possible the Brits will be getting rid of a quarter of their investment banking employees and if you ask Sanford Bernstein, those at the top should go first.

Barclays Plc (BARC), the U.K.’s second-largest bank by assets, could eliminate 7,500 jobs at its investment bank to improve returns at its securities unit, according to a report by Sanford C. Bernstein. The European fixed-income, currencies and commodities business, or FICC, may be the hardest hit, with about 5,000 job losses, analysts led by Chirantan Barua said in a note yesterday. Cuts of 6,500 to 7,500 equate to between 25 percent and 30 percent of the unit’s employees, the report estimated. London-based Barclays should eliminate managing directors first, followed by more junior positions, Barua said.

Barclays May Cut 7,500 at Investment Bank, Bernstein Says [Bloomberg]

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Layoffs Watch '12: Barclays

Cuts are said to have gone down with more a-comin'. Barclays PLC is cutting about 50 employees from its equities business, the latest effort by the British bank to reduce costs at its investment-banking arm. A week ago, the U.K. lender announced internally that about 10% of the jobs at its equities business across Europe, Africa and the Middle East would be lost, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. During the first half of the year, Barclays's equities and prime services business, which employs about 500 people, saw revenue fall 12% on the year to £973 million ($1.57 billion). The business has suffered as market volumes have dried up in recent quarters...The work-force reduction could be a taste of things to come for Barclays's investment bank. At the beginning of 2009, former Barclays Chief Executive Bob Diamond hired more than 400 bankers, mainly in equities and research, as part of a drive to turn the predominately debt-focused bank into a multi-asset powerhouse. Following Mr. Diamond's departure in the wake of a rate-fixing probe, new CEO Antony Jenkins has started a review of the bank's businesses to assess their profitability and whether and how they affect the lender's reputation. This, combined with tougher regulatory requirements, is expected to result in Barclays shrinking its investment bank, analysts say. Barclays To Cut 50 Equities Jobs [WSJ]