Barclays cutting credit card staff by 8%.

LONDON -- Barclays PLC said its credit card division, Barclaycard, will reduce its staff by 400, or 8%, by the middle of next year through voluntary layoffs.

The announcement follows a review of the card company's overhead costs, which began in April. "The review's findings also come at a time of increased competition in the U.K. card market from both British and foreign-owned businesses," the company said.

Among the new competitors is a unit of MBNA Corp., the affinity card specialist based in Newark, Del., which opened a United Kingdom unit this month.

Barclaycard currently employs a staff of 4,835.

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