(Reuters) -British online trading platform IG Group on Tuesday said it would cut 10% of its headcount as part of cost-saving measures to drive operating margin expansion and become a leaner fintech firm.
IG Group is trying to bolster its margins as the number of active clients on its platforms declines because of tough market conditions and a hit to customers’ disposable income due to a cost-of-living squeeze and rising borrowing costs.
IG Group said it expected to reduce about 300 positions worldwide by the end of fiscal 2023, adding that the overall efficiency measures are expected to deliver full run rate cost savings of 50 million pounds ($60.7 million) per year.
“We want to position IG Group as a lean fintech company and today’s decisive actions ensure a strong platform for future growth,” acting CEO Charlie Rozes said in a statement.
The company said non-recurring costs to achieve the savings are expected to be about 18 million pounds split across fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Last month, IG said its total active users across all markets and products in the first quarter that ended on Aug. 31 fell to 267,000 compared with 279,300 a year earlier.
Specialist recruitment firm Morgan McKinley said on Monday that London’s financial services jobs market went into decline in the second quarter, citing a summer slowdown in hiring and the end of post-pandemic resilience seen among many financial firms.
According to its 2023 London Employment Monitor, there was a 34% fall in job seekers and 31% fall in jobs available in London’s financial sector in the second quarter, compared with the previous year.
($1 = 0.8235 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Sinead Cruise in London; Editing by Varun H K, Robert Birsel)
