(Newser)
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Barclays is set to cut some 3,700 jobs amid an operations overhaul, it announced today. Coming out of a strategic review, the company is looking to cut costs by some $2.7 billion, the BBC reports. Nearly half the job cuts will occur at Barclays' investment bank, mostly in Asia. Meanwhile, the firm will concentrate operations in three locations: the US, UK, and Africa, the Wall Street Journal reports. Its European retail banking will begin to focus on wealthy clients.
The move comes as the company attempts to clean up its image after the Libor and other scandals. Related charges meant the bank saw a pre-tax profit last year of some $385 million, compared to $9.2 billion the year before, Reuters notes. "We intend to change what Barclays does and how we do it," CEO Anthony Jenkins said in a statement. "It will take years before people change their impression of us," he noted. But "I'm not daunted by that."
