Barclays to cut more than 100 Singapore back office jobs

Barclays Plc expects to axe up to 12,000 jobs this year to cut costs but it is also paying staff higher bonus - EPA Photo.

SINGAPORE: Barclays is cutting over 100 technology and back office jobs from its offices in Singapore, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday, as it seeks to reduce costs by relocating those roles elsewhere.

The source declined to comment on the exact number of jobs to be cut in Singapore but said it is fewer than 200.

The majority of the roles will be transferred to India, the source said, declining to be identified because the matter is not public.

“We have now identified a number of additional roles that carry out global activity in Singapore which can be relocated,” a spokeswoman for Barclays said in an e-mailed statement.

“Regrettably, this will mean that roles will fall away in Singapore, and so we are working closely with the colleagues impacted to ensure they are supported throughout the process,” the statement said.

Barclays joins rival British lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland in relocating IT jobs from higher cost centres to India in recent years.

In January, Barclays said it will cut about 1,000 jobs in investment banking worldwide and close its cash equities business in Asia, as chief executive Jes Staley wields the axe in a bid to reduce costs.

Bloomberg earlier reported the British lender would be cutting 100 jobs in Singapore. - Reuters