Barclays is set to cut another 408 IT staff, in addition to the 1,800 announced last July, as the tough economy continues to squeeze UK banks.
Some 158 permanent jobs and 250 contractors will lose their jobs over an unspecified period. A Barclays spokesperson told Computerworld UK that the posts duplicated other roles, or had become obsolete, and will be removed completely.
Trade union Unite called the announcement "a bitter blow to the IT workforce across Barclays" and a "serious loss to the UK's skill base."
The new cuts will come from the bank's Global Infrastructure and Service Delivery wing, principally from offices in Cheshire and London, and "some" jobs from Poole and Northampton, Barclays said.
Following a review of its business, it said, the bank had "identified some aspects of our technology operations where the organisational structure impedes performance, and roles and responsibilities for colleagues are unclear. In some cases, roles are obsolete or being duplicated elsewhere within the bank."
The 400 roles will not be moved offshore, unlike the 1,800 job cuts announced in July which are being moved to Singapore, Hungary and India. In 2006, Barclays announced it would cut 1,100 jobs including IT support staff and payment processing posts as it automated cheque handling processes. It also set up its own business process outsourcing operations in India.