London, Sep 10 (IANS): British multinational investment firm Barclays is reportedly planning to lay off hundreds of employees, likely next week, in order to reduce costs.

The UK banking giant may cut as many as 400 jobs in its domestic retail business.

Bloomberg reported, citing people close to the matter, that the bank is planning to reduce nearly 5 per cent of “client-facing staff in the trading division as well as some dealmakers globally.”

Barclays is also reportedly preparing to restructure teams within its UK consumer-banking unit.

A Barclays spokesperson said in a statement that they "do not comment on speculation".

“We regularly review our operations to ensure we meet the evolving needs of our customers and clients in an efficient and effective way,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Earlier, top global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley laid off nearly 3,000 jobs in its second round of job cuts this year amid a continuing global meltdown.

In December 2022, the global investment advisory firm cut about 2 per cent of its global workforce, or about 1,600 employees.

Morgan Stanley followed rival Goldman Sachs and other investment firms including Citigroup and Barclays in reducing their workforce.

Goldman Sachs eliminated about 3,200 jobs in January in one of its biggest cuts ever.