- IG Group said its global workforce would be reduced by about 300
- It believes the efficiency measures would lead to annual cost savings of £50 million
- Acting CEO Charlie Rozes said IG wanted to become “a lean fintech company.”
IG Group has revealed it plans to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a goal to streamline its operations.
The online trading platform said its global workforce would be cut by around 300, equivalent to 10 percent of its workforce at the end of May.
Combined with other ‘efficiency measures’, such as widening the use of global centers of excellence, the company believes the program would lead to £50 million in annual cost savings.
Layoffs: Online trading platform IG Group said it would cut its global workforce by around 300, equivalent to 10 percent of its workforce at the end of May (stock image)
It expects to make £10 million in structural savings this financial year, followed by £20 million in the following 12 months and £50 million the year after.
Like many private investment firms, IG has been hit by a slowdown in trading volumes due to increased economic uncertainty.
In the last financial year, the number of active trading customers on the platform fell by around 23,000 to 358,300, although the latter figure was still double pre-pandemic levels.
Charlie Rozes, acting CEO, commented: “We want to position IG Group as a lean fintech company, and today’s decisive actions create a strong platform for future growth.
‘We will continually evaluate and pursue cost efficiency opportunities to create a more agile and scalable organization.
“Our people will have full support throughout this process, and while these decisions are not easy to make, they will ensure that the business is well positioned for continued long-term success.”
Rozes took over leadership two months ago, after June Felix announced that she would step down as CEO due to her ‘health situation’.
IG achieved extraordinary growth under Felix’s five-year leadership as the Covid-19 pandemic led to a wave of new investors looking to make some money from increased stock market volatility.
While this was happening, the company bought the online brokerage Tastetrade, giving it a larger presence in the US retail options and futures market.
This helped IG’s annual turnover exceed £1 billion for the first time last year, as well as interest rate increases and growth in the company’s exchange-traded derivatives division.
IG Group shares were up 1 per cent at 646.5p on Tuesday afternoon, but have fallen by around 18 per cent since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, investment management company Brooks Macdonald announced it was proposing to cut 55 jobs to save around £4 million a year.
Andrew Shepherd, CEO, said: ‘As an ambitious business we must respond to changing market dynamics by making difficult decisions that will unfortunately affect some of our colleagues but will make the group stronger.’