LONDON - BRITISH banking giant Barclays is to cut over 2,000 jobs in its retail and commercial businesses, it said on Wednesday, a day after announcing a similar number of job losses in its investment divisions.

The new cuts, which could affect staff in its high street branches, bring to over 4,000 the number of Barclays job losses as the banking sector struggles to recover from the credit crunch.

A spokesman said the bank was consulting with the Unite labour union over the job losses.

'Barclays continually reviews its operations and resources so that they function efficiently as business needs and customer requirements evolve. In the current market conditions, this is particularly important,' he said.

The firm will take 'all possible measures' to cut compulsory lay-offs, including natural attrition, releasing contractors, closing vacancies and calling for voluntary redundancies, he said.

Worldwide, Barclays employs around 32,500 people in its investment banking and investment management divisions.

On Tuesday a Barclays source said the 2,100 cuts would be made in its Barclays Capital, Barclays Global Investors and Barclays Wealth divisions.

There were no immediate details about Wednesday's new job reductions.

Less than a week ago, Barclays announced plans to cut more than 400 IT jobs, saying it was doing so in order to run a more efficient operation.

Trade unions criticised the job cuts and the way in which they were announced, calling for Barclays to articulate a broader strategy to give their employees confidence. -- AFP

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