Barclays staff have been told there will be redundancies in the island.

The bank is expected to make up to 900 roles redundant across the British Isles, with unions in the UK criticising the timing in the run up to Christmas.

While staff in the UK were told yesterday, we understand that staff on the island were told either late on Tuesday or this morning.

One man who emailed Media Isle of Man said he had been with the bank for several years and was disappointed to be told so close to Christmas that he will likely be losing his job.

A Barclays spokesperson said: ‘As we said in October at Q3 results, we are taking a number of actions to simplify and reshape the business, improve service, and deliver higher returns.

‘This includes changes to our headcount as management layers are reduced and the Group improves its technology and automation capabilities. We are committed to supporting impacted colleagues through these changes.’

The spokesperson however said they wouldn’t be providing a breakdown for numbers in the island.

The organisation recently announced it was going to close its Castletown branch on February 9 because of low numbers using the bank.

Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston said in the House of Keys this week that Barclays would be protecting all the jobs effected by the move.

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