WILMINGTON — Barclays Bank laid off roughly 24 employees this week at its Wilmington offices in what representatives described as a routine review of its business model.Barclay’s confirmed to the Delaware Business Times Thursday morning that these positions in the U.S. consumer business were made redundant. Those positions were not limited to one department, but rather were evaluated in terms of redeploying roles or minor cost-cutting measures.
The bank reported 2,000 employees that work out of its Riverfront Wilmington office as of this week and is currently hiring for more than 30 jobs. Those roles range from interns to vice president of lean conscientious improvement.
“We regularly review our operations to ensure we have the most effective and efficient model to best serve our customers and clients. Following a recent review, a limited number of roles in our U.S. consumer business were made redundant,” a Barclays spokesperson said. “These decisions are never easy, and employees whose roles have been impacted will receive a full range of transition services. We continue to execute on our strategy and growth ambitions.”
The multinational bank has made significant strides in the last years to solidify its presence in Wilmington, including investing $83 million to buy offices at 129 S. West in 2021 and adding onto its employment base since. When Barclays first bought out the building it had leased out for 13 years, it had 1,000 employees in the state.
But in 2023, Barclays Bank was reported to start lay-offs across the globe as part of a $1.25 billion cost-cutting measure, with the final number at 5,000 jobs cut. But when the bank expected lower profits in the first quarter of 2024, Reuters reported it was looking at another round of layoffs for “a few hundred roles.”
Barclays has a three-year plan to become a simpler and more efficient bank, in which the bank focuses on business lending and consumer operations while slowing its growth as an investment bank.
