Barclays has shed 8,000 jobs in the last four months in one of the fastest reductions at the bank in at least five years. Chief Executive Jes Staley joined the bank in December under pressure from investors to improve performance. He said 6,000 of the 8,000 positions were eliminated in his first 100 days. Barclays had 129,400 full-time employees at the end of 2015. The bank is also set to cut its cash equities business in Asia along with 1,000 jobs in the region and close offices in South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Russia and Brazil.