The union dubbed the move "disgraceful" and accused the bank of shedding staff in order to "further boost its massive profits".

Affected staff were told at 1pm on Tuesday, Unite said.

It comes after Barclays reported quarterly pre-tax profits of £1.9bn from July to September - which was better than expected by analysts.

The bank would not confirm how many jobs were being cut in the run-up to Christmas, but said it was "taking a number of actions to simplify and reshape the business".

It is the latest in a string of financial firms slimming down on staff numbers in recent months.

Last week it was reported that the country's biggest high street chain Lloyds was considering scrapping 2,500 roles as part of a shake-up.

Many banks have also been cutting costs this year by closing dozens of branches.

Unite said the latest Barclays cuts would affect a number of divisions, including its Barclays International arm and Barclays Execution Services, which provides technology, operations and functional services to businesses across the group.

It comes on top of 450 reported job cuts at the firm in September, along with the axing of 100 roles at its investment bank division earlier this year.

A Barclays spokesperson said the changes were aimed at improving services and "deliver[ing] higher returns".

They added: "This includes changes to our headcount as management layers are reduced and the group improves its technology and automation capabilities.

"We are committed to supporting impacted colleagues through these changes."

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The company employed a total of around 22,300 staff at the end of last year.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: "Barclays is disgracefully cutting jobs to further boost its massive profits.

"This is a mega-rich bank that is already on course to make eye-watering profits this year."

The bank's chief executive CS 'Venkat' Venkatakrishnan revealed in October he was considering cuts as he unveiled its third quarter results.

At the time he said the bank saw "further opportunities to enhance returns for shareholders through cost efficiencies and disciplined capital allocation across the group".

Sky's Mark Kleinman revealed on Monday that Metro Bank was in talks to offload its £3bn mortgage portfolio to Barclays.