Another question mark over the future utility of Blackdown House?

Lucy White www.thisismoney.co.uk

Big offices are now a thing of the past, says Barclays boss in sign lender may give up most of its Canary Wharf HQ

Published: 29 April 2020

The boss of Barclays has said having thousands of workers in one building ‘may be a thing of the past’ as he signalled a shift in the way the banking industry operates.

In a sign that the lender may give up most of its towering Canary Wharf HQ, chief executive Jes Staley said the coronavirus would have a lasting impact on where staff work.

Around 70,000 of the 80,000 employees are working from home with just a handful of the 7,000 who usually work in Canary Wharf, London, coming in to the office. 

Barclays boss Jes Staley (pictured with wife Debora) said the coronavirus would have a lasting impact on where staff work

Others are in branches, operating with social distancing measures, while a few are going in to call centres.

Staley said: ‘You’re going to find we use much more significantly our branches as alternate sites for investment bankers and call centre workers and people in the corporate bank. Putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past.

‘We will find ways to operate with more distancing.’………..