Fears of City jobs cull as IG Group cuts 300 roles

FRESH fears of a bleak winter City jobs cull grew today when IG Group said it would slash 10% of its workforce.

- Simon English

For the leading spread betting house that is 300 roles, but replicated across a City workforce of 587,000, that could mean towards 60,000 jobs at risk.

While the shake-out is unlikely to be that bad, bankers are increasingly nervous after another flat year marked by depressed trading volumes and a prolonged drought in M&A and IPO activity.

Some of the big banks such as Goldman Sachs have already made cuts, so might not repeat them, but the IG news caused a shiver of fear in the Square Mile about what could be coming.

IG said the job losses would help save £50 million a year. It called the move “measures to simplify and streamline the business, better positioning it for further growth”.