The number of cuts is about 14% of Barclays’ global workforce, according to a Reuters report.
Further cuts are expected to be in its Asia investment banking sector. Corporate finance and advisory staff in South Korea and Taiwan, and equities sales and research staff across the region also under the axe, the report said.
According to sources close to Barclays, the latest job losses will involve staff in countries in which the bank is not a leading player.
It was also announced earlier this week that Barclays will close its Indian equities business as part of its wider pullback in Asia.
The bank is also reported to be mulling the sale of its Asian private wealth business, with Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings and Julius Baer viewed as potential bidders.
“We are constantly monitoring our opportunities in different geographies and businesses over the cycle. If any firm decisions are made, we will provide an update,” a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman at Barclays said in an e-mail.
Barclay’s head of private banking in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, Didier von Daeniken, has already left to join Standard Chartered Bank, FSA reported last month.
