Barclays to Cut 5,000 Jobs as AI Drives Cost Savings

Barclays plans to reduce its workforce by 5,000 full-time employees, the UK bank announced on Oct. 22. The cuts represent 5% of its total workforce, with about 60% expected to affect support functions.

The bank expects the measures to generate £1.1 billion in efficiency savings in 2027. The reductions will include fewer developer roles, as AI tools increase the productivity of existing employees. Jobs that directly serve customers and clients are expected to be less affected than support roles.

Speaking at a results meeting, Barclays Chief Executive CS Venkatakrishnan linked the job reductions to investments in technology and infrastructure. “AI has an important role to play and may have a more important role to play in the future,” he said.

He described AI as “the icing on the cake – it’s not the cake,” adding that banks must first build the infrastructure needed to gain benefits from the technology.

Barclays said it is developing the workforce and skills needed to carry out its strategy and respond to changes in customer and client needs. The bank said it would help employees build their skills and careers during the workforce changes. It did not give a timetable for the individual job reductions.

The plans follow other technology-related cuts in banking. HSBC said earlier in October that it planned to eliminate half of its management and specialist roles in wealth management and reduce its number of human financial advisers by 70%. The bank plans to use AI for some of the work.

HSBC investment banking chief Michael Roberts said AI agents could eventually trade in financial markets. He pointed to advances in AI, quantum computing and distributed ledger technology, while stressing that humans would continue to oversee the systems.

Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani rejected the view that AI would simply eliminate jobs. He said companies would need people to manage business transformation, governance, change management and safeguards against false information or unauthorized actions by AI systems.