Barclays plan to relocate hundreds of jobs a ‘huge blow’ for region

Barclays has announced the relocation of hundreds of jobs, with more than 300 staff at sites in Coventry and Birmingham affected by the plan.

The bank said there will be a reduction of about 50 jobs in total, with the remaining 400 moving to Glasgow, Greater Manchester and Northampton.

Unite the union has said the West Midlands will be hardest hit, with 350 jobs at risk in Coventry Westwood Park and Birmingham Snowhill.

A spokesman for Barclays said: “In order to best serve our customers and clients Barclays is moving teams closer together at our core UK sites in Glasgow, Greater Manchester and Northampton, where we are investing in new campuses and office space.

“Today we have informed staff that a number of operations and technology roles are relocating within the UK.

“We are not reducing the number of jobs overall, except in a few cases of duplication, and we will remain a significant employer in both Coventry and Birmingham.”

Dominic Hook, Unite national officer, said: “This staff reduction programme is extremely alarming for the workforce at Barclays. Unite is very clear that the decision to cut around 460 jobs will result in a large number of compulsory redundancies which will bring a noticeable impact on customer service across Barclays.

“The decision by Barclays to make significant job losses in the West Midlands is a huge blow for the workforce. This is even more alarming in light of 170 staff from fraud operations were cut in Coventry last year.

“Unite is in discussion with Barclays regarding its future site strategy in order to gain vital clarity and job security for the workforce. The union has challenged the bank on service quality levels due to the loss of knowledge and experienced staff as a result of these changes.

“The union will continue to engage with Barclays to discuss redeployment and outplacement support options for the employees, with a specific focus on training opportunities.”