LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc is nearingthe completion of a raft of job cuts at its investment bank aspart of its new chief executive's plan to streamline operationsand cut costs, a person familiar with the matter said onWednesday.
The scale of cuts is unclear, but analysts expect ChiefExecutive Antony Jenkins to announce about 2,000 investment bankjobs have gone when he unveils a strategic plan on Feb. 12.
Sources said there have been cuts in front- and back-officefunctions, and they have included fixed income, commodities,currencies, equities and advisory business areas.
Barclays started the cuts just over two weeks ago, and theprocess is mostly complete in Asia and the United States, onesource said. Staff affected in Britain have been told, butconsultation periods for the UK and Europe have prolonged theprocess.
Barclays staff are due to be told their 2012 bonus awards onFriday. Overall pay for its investment bankers for 2012 isexpected to fall by between 10 percent and 20 percent onaverage, sources have told Reuters.
Barclays plans to cut 275 jobs in three locations in NewYork, including its office in the former Lehman Brothersheadquarters, the British bank said in a filing with the NewYork State Labor Department.
Wednesday's filing also showed the layoff date would be May15.
Jenkins, who took over in August after having run Barclays'retail operations, is revamping the bank following the departureof Bob Diamond when the bank was fined for rigging Liborinterest rates.
Barclays had 23,300 investment bank staff at the end ofJune. Analysts say 5 to 10 percent of staff could go, althoughsome suggest a bigger cull of 15 percent, or more than 3,000jobs, could be seen.
Investment banks around the world are taking a harder lineon pay and axing jobs to cope with a regulatory crackdown afterthe financial crisis. Tighter regulations have made them lessprofitable than in the past, and thousands of cuts have beenmade at rivals including UBS, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Barclays (BARC)