Barclays Capital sheds 250 jobs

BARCLAYS CAPITAL, the bond-trading arm of Barclays Bank, yesterday dismissed 250 people, or just under 5 per cent of staff, after completing a review of the business which reported pounds 250m Russian bond losses in September. About 75 of the jobs have been lost in London.

The biggest casualties were in sales, where around 50 people have gone and in Asia, where 80 jobs have been lost. The job losses at Barclays came as Dresdner Kleinwort Benson started cutting back on staff in the wake of the surprise third-quarter losses unveiled on Monday. Several research analysts have gone, including the highly rated pharmaceuticals analyst Steve Puttnam. Up to 100 jobs are feared to be at risk in the next few weeks.

Merrill Lynch, which is eliminating 400 City jobs, is losing eight analysts, including highly rated leisure analyst Roy Owens. Merrill has also disbanded its three-strong UK-based mining corporate advisory team, although the firm insists clients will continue to be served by a specialist industry group in New York and local relationship managers in Europe.