Uncertainty swirls around Barclays' plans

Uncertainty swirled around Barclays' overhaul plans Monday following a report that the British banking giant plans to cut more than 30,000 jobs as it speeds up its cost-cutting strategy.

The reported job reductions could cut the London-based bank's global workforce from approximately 132,000 to less than 100,000 by the end of 2017, according to The Times, which cited unidentified senior sources for details of the bank's plans.

Most of the cuts are expected to come in middle- and back-office operations, the report said.

The reductions are viewed as the only way to deal with Barclays' under-performance financial results and simultaneously meet the bank's goal of doubling its share price, the report said.

However, Reuters reported that Barclays has no additional job-reduction plans beyond the 19,000 cuts the bank announced in May 2014.

Those cuts, including 7,000 at Barclays' investment bank, were part of a three-year reduction plan unveiled by then-chief executive Antony Jenkins — who was axed July 8 and succeeded on an interim basis by Barclays board chairman John McFarlane amid a search for a permanent replacement.

The bank declined to comment on the reports Monday.

Barclays shares were down 0.17% at $17.49 in morning trading.

Investors and financial analysts are likely to press for more detailed information about the bank's turnaround plans when Barclays reports its second-quarter financial results on July 29.

Jenkins was ousted as the bank's board said "a new set of skills" was needed to accelerate changes at Barclays, whose share performance has lagged that of major rivals.

Barclays' financial performance has also been hobbled by millions of dollars in settlements paid after global investigations found that the bank's traders were among those at several financial institutions who manipulated the world's financial exchange currency market and the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), a benchmark used to set rates on trillions of dollars in mortgages, loans and credit cards.

McFarlane signaled cost-cutting ahead at the time of Jenkins' ouster, saying Barclays needs to be "much more focused on what is attractive, what we are good at and where we are good at it."

"We therefore need to accelerate revenue, costs and capital performance," said Jenkins. "We also need to become more externally focused and deal with the internal bureaucracy by becoming leaner and more agile."