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U.K. bank Barclays PLC (BARC.LN) said Tuesday it will cut 184 job positions in two centers in Liverpool, a move that contributes to the worsening employment outlook in the U.K. financial services industry.

A Barclays spokeswoman said the positions, which were part of the bank's individual savings account (ISA) processing staff, had to be cut as operations have become more computerized, therefore cutting the need for manual processing.

The spokeswoman said the final job cuts figure will be "a lot lower" than 184 because those affected are being encouraged to apply for "significant opportunities for redeployment" within the bank. She wasn't able to say how many other jobs are open within the bank.

The cuts come just a week after Barclays accepted a GBP8.2 billion offer from BlackRock Inc. (BLK) to purchase its Barclays Global Investors business.

In January, Barclays said it had identified 2,100 jobs that were at risk in its U.K. Global Retail & Commercial Banking division. The ISA processing staff are part of that division.

The spokeswoman wasn't able to say how many of the 2,100 identified positions have already been cut.

When asked how many more job cuts could be expected, the spokeswoman said that "there is nothing in the pipeline at the moment, but we're always reviewing our operations and resources to ensure we're meeting business needs and customer requirements."

Barclays' Web site shows the bank has about 155,000 employees worldwide.

Rob MacGregor, national officer for the traded union Unite, said Unite opposes the job cuts. "This represents a short-term approach to savings by the bank, at a cost to the skills base and economy of the local community," he said.

MacGregor said Barclays "has simply taken the easiest way out and chosen to shut the sites."

"The union has questioned the logic of closing two productive centres. We are totally opposed to compulsory job losses and will be meeting with our members over the coming days," he said.

Data from the Office for National Statistics show that some 33,400 finance-related jobs were cut last year, bringing the jobs figure close to 1.03 million at end-December.

Company Web site: www.barclays.com

-By Vladimir Guevarra, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel. +44 (0) 2078429486, vladimir.guevarra@dowjones.com