Barclays’ recent redundancies were more horrible than anyone thought

As we noted this morning, Business Insider says Morgan Stanley’s recent equities redundancies were a little more harsh than previously supposed. Now, it seems that the same may be said of Barclays.

As we discovered last month, Barclays has been laying off very senior people in a bid to cut costs. We reported that at least two were let go - Brett Tejpaul (head of digital for the markets division) and Deborah Way (emerging markets distribution) – but it seems we may have understated the reality.

Barclays insiders say that Teipaul and Way were accompanied by numerous others on their way out the door. These others are understood to have included: Toby Baldinger, a New York-based managing director (MD) in emerging market sales; Rhiannon Wakefield, a UK-based MD and global head of macro client strategy; and Emma Bryan, an MD in market risk and control.

All three had been at Barclays for over a decade. Baldinger turned up in 2002, Wakefield and Bryan arrived in 2008.  And all three are women. Coupled with the ejection of Way – one of Barclays’ most prominent females – this is raising eyebrows internally. Moreover, it’s thought there are further cuts to come, and that other senior women are on the list.

Barclays declined to comment. The British bank is under pressure to increase returns in its corporate and investment bank after they fell to 9.5% in the first quarter. Barclays was the top ranked European bank globally in the first three months of 2019.    

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available.

 

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)