Barclays is to axe 175 jobs in the West Midlands as part of a huge reorganisation programme across the country.
The majority of the job losses in the Midlands - 157 in total - will go from the bank’s base on the Westwood Business Park in Coventry. It is cutting 18 roles at its Snowhill office in Birmingham.
A Barclays spokesman said that the bank would attempt to redeploy staff affected by the cuts.
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The cuts form part of a huge rationalisation which will see a major processing centre in Leeds close with the loss of almost 800 jobs.
The Coventry and Birmingham job losses form part of 345 additional jobs being axed across the country in more than 20 locations.
It is understood around 15 of the roles are being transferred to India, and 20 people will work remotely from home.
The latest news comes less than a year after Barclays cut its Westwood Park workforce in Coventry by more than 200.
Speaking about the bank’s reorganisation a Barclays spokesman said: “For the last few years, Barclays has been changing the way it works, to better serve customers and clients.
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“One of the changes we are making is to how and where we work from, so we can bring together teams that have been disparate in the past.
“The bank is investing in its workspaces, and building new offices such as the Glasgow campus we announced in July 2018.
“Co-locating our teams in key sites will help to drive innovation, increase the pace at which the bank can deliver new products and services, and – for our colleagues – allow enhanced career path opportunities."
Regarding the job cuts in Coventry and Birmingham the Barclays spokesman added: “Across our Birmingham and Coventry offices, there are a total of 175 roles impacted by these changes – 157 roles in Coventry and 18 in Birmingham.
“For our colleagues who are impacted, they will be offered support to find alternative roles within the Barclays Group.
“We remain committed to Birmingham and Coventry and following these changes, we continue to employ a significant number of people at our Snowhill and Westwood Park sites, as well as further staff across our branch network in the West Midlands.”
The trade union Unite said it was alarmed at the announcement, particularly the closure of the Leeds operation, and said that as regards the Coventry cuts the workforce has already faced a large number of job losses in recent years.
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Dominic Hook, Unite national officer, said: “The sheer scale of the job cuts announced today by Barclays is alarming.
“Unite is from today supporting our members across the country as they absorb the news that Barclays is closing their site in Leeds and making major job cuts in Coventry as well as many other key workplaces.
“This is clearly a time of immense uncertainty and worry for the workforce.
“The union is working with Barclays to put into place every possible remedy to support the staff in finding suitable alternative employment and offering advice and support to assist colleagues, including redeployment wherever possible.”