Big cuts are on the way at Barclays operations in Wilmington.
Barclays announced. via press release that it will relocate approximately 500 jobs from its offices in Wilmington to a new campus in Whippany, New Jersey, where they will join nearly 1,900 colleagues currently working at the facility.
“Wilmington has long-served as, and will continue to be, the strategic headquarters for Barclays’ US consumer banking division,” said Barry Rodrigues, CEO, Cards and Payments, Barclays. “We continue to invest in our Wilmington headquarters and Whippany campus to support our fast-growing consumer business. In addition, we remain steadfast in our commitment to support the community through our philanthropic efforts, partnering with non-profit organizations to help make a positive impact in the lives of Delawareans and New Jerseyans every day.”
Transfers to the Whippany campus will begin this fall, completing by the end of the year, and relocation assistance will be provided to those moving, the release stated.
New Jersey has aggressively supported Barclays with $43 million in incentives, according to the Subsidy Tracker website. That’s far more than the $1 million listed for Delaware.
Barclays stated that its US Consumer Bank is one of the fastest-growing credit card issuers in the United States. The business is the 9th largest credit card issuer with 13 million customers, $26 billion in card loans and $15 billion in retail deposits.
A financial career website earlier reported Barclays could cut up to 200 jobs in Delaware as it reorganizes its credit card business..
EFinancialCareers.com reported the bank plans to move some jobs to a new site in New Jersey and to Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, NV.
It is known that Barclays is vacating space at an employment site in the Ogletown area south of Newark.
Cuts at Barclays were disclosed in 2018 when Sallie Mae announced it would hire laid-off workers from the bank as part of its expansion in New Castle. Barclays officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest report.
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According to filings with the Delaware Department of Labor, no WARN notices have been filed this year in Delaware. The notices are required in the event of large layoffs and site closings. Barclays did file a WARN notice in 2017 after cutting more than 200 jobs in Ogletown.
Companies can get around such filings through an extended period of small job cuts.
Reports out of the bank have indicated that some employees have balked at relocating to an area with a higher cost of living and property taxes for homes that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars a year.
The bank entered the market more than a decade ago with the purchase of credit card provider Juniper.
Juniper was started by former executives of First USA, which later became part of the Wilmington-based credit card unit of JPMorgan Chase.
EFinancial noted that the chief of Barclays US consumer banking business resigned after a year on the job.
Financial services employment in Delaware has been flat over the past year or so, but has numerous job openings that some former Barclays staffers might be able to fill.
