Barclays to Cut About 5,000 Jobs as It Expands Use of AI
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Image: City A.M..
Barclays is cutting its staff by around 5,000 as it introduces more artificial intelligence into its work processes, the banking group said; 1,000 posts had already been closed and a further 4,000 reductions are expected to be complete by the end of this year, amounting to around 5% of its global workforce, the BBC reported. The BBC said the reductions are focused on the UK retail bank, but that some back-office functions for the UK are performed in India, where a significant proportion of the cuts are expected to fall.
Around 60% of the job cuts will fall within support functions, including among developers, the BBC reported. City A.M. quoted group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan saying the cuts are “across the bank” and “primarily related to operational and functional roles that service our business,” the result of investments in technology over a number of years; Venkatakrishnan said AI use at the firm is “the icing on the cake, not the cake,” according to both outlets.
The announcement accompanied third-quarter results: Barclays reported a £2.3bn pre-tax profit for the three months to end September, up 12% year on year but narrowly short of internal consensus of £2.4bn, City A.M. reported. Investment bank income came in at £3.1bn against a £3.3bn forecast, with fixed income down 19% year on year, City A.M. said; the Wall Street Journal reported pre-tax profit missed estimates on fixed-income weakness. City A.M. reported the bank set a target of over £2bn in cost-efficiency savings across 2026 to 2028 and launched a £500m share buyback; the BBC reported Barclays expects its efficiency measures to deliver a further £1.1bn of savings in 2027.