John Swinney bids to persuade Barclays to save 350 jobs in Scotland

A FRESH attempt to save hundreds of jobs at a major bank in Scotland is under way.

Finance secretary John Swinney has lobbied Barclays chief executive John Varley in an effort to reverse a plan for 350 jobs to move from Scotland to Wales.

Barclaycard announced proposals last year to relocate its Barclays Partner Finance operations from Glasgow to Cardiff.

Almost all the 350 Glasgow staff are expected to lose their jobs by the summer, following the announcement in December.

Up to 300 staff could be recruited in Cardiff to continue the lending role following the announcement of a merger in the Barclaycard division.

Despite an ongoing consultation on the move, it is understood staff are already being recruited in Wales. Sources close to Mr Swinney said he was now involved in efforts to save the Scottish jobs.

A spokesman for the bank refused to comment on the situation yesterday other than to say the "consultation period is ongoing" and a final decision had not been made.

Scottish staff want to see the operations base moved from Wales to Glasgow, claiming the company could save money in the process.

The move follows Barclays' reported pre-tax profits of more than 11 billion. But its Cardiff-based Firstplus loans business has been struggling in the recession.

Firstplus is being merged with Glasgow-based Barclays Partner Finance, also part of the Barclaycard division, and continues to provide loans to shoppers at the point of sale. Barclays Partner Finance provides point of sale finance through more than 3,000 partners across the UK.

The move comes just days after Barclays announced a 92 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to 11.6bn, helped by the sale of its fund management arm and a strong performance by investment banking business Barclays Capital.

The record results saw Barclays pay out 2.7bn in bonuses, 1.5bn of which was in cash.