Barclays will cut around 5,000 jobs — roughly 5% of its workforce — by the end of 2026, the bank announced on Thursday, as it leans on artificial intelligence and a simplification of its organisation to strip out costs. The move came alongside third-quarter results that beat last year’s but fell short of what analysts expected.
Pre-tax profit for the quarter was £2.3 billion, up 12% from a year earlier but below the £2.4 billion consensus estimate. Revenue rose 3% to £7.4 billion. The bank also took a further £201 million in “structural cost actions” during the quarter and expects around £600 million of such costs for the full year.
Finance chief Anna Cross was unusually direct about the role of technology in the reductions. “AI makes our people more productive,” she told a press briefing, framing the cuts as “organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI.” About 60% of the eliminated roles are in support functions, including software developers — a striking detail, since developers are usually among the hardest roles to cut.
Roughly 1,000 of the jobs have already gone, with the rest to follow over the coming year.
The results exposed a familiar weak spot. Income from fixed-income trading — the bond, currency and commodities desks — dropped 19% in the quarter, continuing a run of underperformance against Wall Street rivals. Chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan did not hide his frustration: “I am disappointed, and you can be sure this will get my attention.”
Barclays is not alone among big European banks in linking job cuts to AI-driven productivity, but few have put the connection so bluntly. The announcement will add fuel to a debate already raging across the UK financial sector: whether AI is reshaping how banks work — or simply giving chief executives cover for cuts they would have made anyway.
Sources: Reuters via Business Standard (https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/barclays-to-cut-5-000-jobs-in-ai-led-cost-drive-as-q3-profit-rises-12-126102201741_1.html) and AFP via Daily Sabah (https://www.dailysabah.com/business/finance/british-banking-giant-barclays-to-cut-about-5000-jobs-amid-ai-drive).
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