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Two days ago I wrote an article about the dysfunctional culture at Barclays (LSE:BARC) that had created an atmosphere that essentially ignored the “Do the right thing” culture that I grew up in with a “Do what I say or else” culture put employees all employees at the virtual edge of a slippery slope. In the last sentence of that article I wrote “Antony Jenkins, who replaced Bob Diamond, has made it clear that he want to make real changes. Let’s hope that he means it and that he can do it.” I am here today to say that it looks like he does.
Although we do not know CEO Antony Jenkins overall strategy as yet – that will be presented on 12 February – we DO know that the table has been set for the termination of as many as 2,000 jobs. The company has begun “a consultation process,” in which employees are “consulted” regarding potential job cuts. This is a process required by law when a company intends to axe more than 100 people or positions.
A company representative said, “This exercise is being carried out so that we can start to effect some of the strategic changes as a consequence of the ‘Transform’ review of Barclays business. ‘Transform’ is explicitly intended to optimize the entire Barclays business and to accelerate our already strong performance. The changes planned for the investment bank are wholly consistent with that intent.”
In September, Jenkins said that he would be “quick and bold” in implementing strategic reforms. What puzzles me is that some news services are calling the forthcoming strategy a downsizing or a headcount reduction. I have yet to see anything from the bank itself that sets it in that context.
Barclays is talking about the overall plan being designed “explicitly” for “optimizing” their business. While some jobs may be eliminated, the way the announcements and reports are worded seems to indicated that at least some staff will be informed with “You’re fired” as opposed to “Your job is being eliminated.” Whilst the immediate effect on the individual feels the same, there is a a very wide difference from the company perspective.
One tell-tale clue is that Jenkins told bank employees last week that failure to sign and indicate that they would comply with the bank’s new Code of Conduct, would result in their dismissal. It’s probably more accurate to say that it was put to them as “We’re not going to force anyone to sign this. The choice is yours. Sign it or leave.”
And you can bet your sweet bippy that, more than downsizing, Jenkins is focused on housecleaning. He knows that there are nefarious elements still at large within the bank’s offices. It appears that he was not born yesterday and that he understands that, if the infection is not removed entirely, it will come back again. He has already stated the “the bank will move to stop activities that have hurt its reputation.” That doesn’t say anything about downsizing. But it does imply that some heads have yet to roll, since stopping activities typically means stopping the people who are responsible.
My best guess is that Jenkins is not employing the extremely popular scapegoating technique. It appears as though he is going to eliminate those involved in corruption at all levels.
As I said two days ago, “Let’s hope that he means it and that he can do it.” So far, it looks like he means it.
