Air will be sucked through teeth by Brummies reading reports that Barclays are transfering jobs from Birmingham and Solihull to Mancheaster, Glasgow and Nottingham.

Barclays is to make changes that affect 350 staff at their Coventry Westwood Park and Birmingham Snowhill offices. There will be a net loss of 50 jobs, with 400 moving to other regions.

The teeth-sucking comes with Barclays' explanation of the move, which seemed to suggest that Birmingham was no longer a core city for its operations.

A spokesman for Barclays said: “In order to best serve our customers and clients Barclays is moving teams closer together at our core UK sites in Glasgow, Greater Manchester and Northampton, where we are investing in new campuses and office space," Business Desk reported.

“We are not reducing the number of jobs overall, except in a few cases of duplication, and we will remain a significant employer in both Coventry and Birmingham," the statement concluded.

Barclays occupies 98K SF at Snowhill on a 15-year lease agreed in 2008. It also has 125K SF at Westwood Business Park. This is not the first time jobs have been cut in Coventry, with a similar-sized cull in 2016.

Coming so soon after Birmingham and Coventry both lost out on efforts to secure the relocation of broadcaster Channel 4, the Barclays move will cause discomfort.

Channel 4 eventually opted for Leeds, largely due to lower property cost.