By Olivia Oran and Anjuli Davies
NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - British bank BarclaysPlc has put a freeze on hiring new staff until thestart of next year as it steps up efforts to cut costs and raiseprofitability.
A Barclays spokesman said the hiring freeze had been inplace since late September and is due to be reviewed at thestart of January.
There are exceptions to the freeze, including to fillvacancies for UK branch staff and for some critical positions,as well as vacant positions in low cost locations, the spokesmansaid.
Many banks are taking an increasingly hard line on costs inan effort to improve profitability. Barclays is midway through athree year plan to cut costs, which involves shedding 19,000staff, or about 14 percent of its global workforce. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/08/us-barclays-restructuring-idUSBREA4705B20140508)
John McFarlane has increased the focus on costs after takingover as Barclays chairman in April. The bank's incoming ChiefExecutive Jes Staley, who starts in December, is also expectedto try to find more cost savings. (Additional reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by RuthPitchford)
Barclays (BARC)
