Updated, 8:26 p.m. | LONDON – Barclays said on Tuesday that it would cut as many 12,000 jobs this year, or about 8 percent of its work force, as part of a painful restructuring that began a year ago.
The chief executive of the British bank, Antony P. Jenkins, has been trying to overhaul Barclays and revive its image in the eyes of British consumers after a series of scandals in the last few years, including the manipulation of global interest rate benchmarks. Mr. Jenkins took the top job in 2012 after the ouster of Robert E. Diamond Jr.
Last year, the bank said it would cut 3,700 jobs as part of a plan to reduce its annual expenses by as much as 1.7 billion pounds, or about $2.8 billion, by 2015. The overhaul includes exiting business lines and reducing its exposure to riskier trading.
On Tuesday, the bank said that the new job cuts would include 7,000 jobs in Britain, its home market, and some 800 members of its management. The bank has already cut about 7,650 jobs so far as part of its restructuring. It currently has 140,000 employees.
“Our industry is going through what I regard as a 100-year transformation” driven partly by technology, Mr. Jenkins said.
Additionally on Tuesday, Barclays reported a steep fourth-quarter loss of £514 million, driven partly by restructuring costs, an increased levy by the British government related to riskier financing and a £331 million charge for litigation and regulation penalties. That compared with a loss of £364 million in the same period a year earlier.
Banks with more than £20 billion in potential liabilities are required to pay an annual levy to the British government. The measure was put in place in 2011 as part of an effort to discourage lenders from engaging in riskier financial transactions.
Barclays paid a levy of £504 million in the fourth quarter, up from £345 million a year ago.
On an adjusted pretax basis, the bank reported a profit of £191 million for the three months to Dec. 31, down from £1.4 billion in the period a year earlier. Its core Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of a bank’s ability to weather financial disturbances, rose to 13.2 percent by the end of 2013, up from 10.8 percent in 2012.
The bank also noted in its results that it had agreed to commit no United States crime through June as part of a nonprosecution agreement reached with the Justice Department in 2012 over accusations that Barclays employees had tried to manipulate the interest rate benchmarks known as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. A breach of the agreement, the bank cautioned “could have significant consequences” for its current and future business operations in the United States. Barclays is among the global banks currently under investigation into whether traders manipulated the foreign exchange market, an inquiry that could complicate the 2012 settlement.
Despite the quarterly loss, the bank increased its pool for bonuses and other incentives to £2.4 billion in 2013, up from £2.2 billion the previous year. Barclays noted that its bonus pool remained £1.1 billion lower than it was in 2010.
In the investment bank, bonuses and other incentives increased 13 percent, to £1.6 billion.
Banker bonuses have been a sore topic for politicians and the public, particularly since taxpayers injected billions of dollars into Barclays’ rivals in Britain during the financial crisis in 2008.
Mr. Jenkins defended the increased bonuses during a meeting with journalists on Tuesday.
“The compensation levels are set by the market. That is not something we can control,” he said. He added that pressure on hiring and retaining talent was “intense.”
“Ensuring that we have the right people in the right roles serving our customers and clients effectively in a highly competitive global environment is vital to our ability to generate sustainable shareholder returns,” Mr. Jenkins said.
For the second consecutive year, the chief executive declined to take a bonus himself.
Jenny Anderson contributed reporting.