Barclays is cutting around 5,000 jobs, with the majority in support functions, as part of a cost-saving drive that bosses say is driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI).
Job cuts target support roles
The reductions represent about 5% of the bank's 93,000 global staff. Chief financial officer Anna Cross told reporters that the moves are part of plans to save more than £1.1bn in 2027.
Cross said: "These actions involve an expected reduction of circa 5000 full time employees, around 60% of the group actions relate to support functions, including theory developers. AI makes our people more productive."
CEO highlights AI's role
Asked how many of the total job cuts would be directly linked to AI, chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said the bank had been making "deep investments" in technology and simplifying its processes.
Venkatakrishnan said: "That is driving the bulk of the efficiency gains that you've seen so far. AI has an important role to play and may have a more important role to play in the future." He called AI the "icing on the cake" to modernising the bank's technology, adding: "We have been focusing on the infrastructure build, and where the infrastructure is modern, we've been applying AI."
Industry-wide trend
The news follows Standard Chartered's announcement that it plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it ramps up AI use, slashing around 15% of its back-office roles by 2030.
