RUMOURS that further job cuts are imminent at Barclays House have been denied by the bank.

However, Barclays has admitted that should its takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro go ahead, job losses in the UK are inevitable.

Employees inside the Poole base are becoming increasingly nervous with Barclays moving nearer to a merger with ABN.

Any fears have been heightened following the shock announcement last month that 1,100 jobs - more than half the Barclays House workforce - are to be axed in Poole by 2010.

But Barclays insist any deal with ABN is unlikely to be completed before the autumn and it remains committed to Poole. "We have agreed terms of a merger with the board of ABN Amro but the process is still at an early stage," said a Barclays spokesman.

"There are a number of significant steps to be negotiated before the deal can be completed, including gaining approval of both sets of shareholders.

"If the deal does complete, as we have announced, there will be an initial reduction in staff across the combined global workforce of the two companies.

"However, in the longer term Barclays expects the deal to create employment opportunities.

"It is far too early to discuss the impact on specific sites in the UK should the deal complete. However, we are committed to the region."

Following the announcement of the 1,000-plus job cuts, Barclays announced it would be moving its Poole base to a smaller site on West Quay Road. Around 850 roles will be retained and moved to the new building, which is scheduled for completion in 2010.