Barclays Cuts 5,000 Jobs as AI Seen as ‘Icing on the Cake’
Barclays CEO calls AI a secondary benefit as 5,000 jobs cut in restructuring.
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Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan described artificial intelligence as the “icing on the cake” during a Thursday announcement revealing plans to eliminate roughly 5,000 jobs by the end of 2026. The job cuts represent approximately 5% of the bank’s global workforce, with 1,000 positions already eliminated and another 4,000 expected to be cut by then.
A Focus on Efficiency and Modernization
The announcement came alongside third-quarter financial results showing the bank’s pretax profits climbed 12% to approximately $3.1 billion. Venkatakrishnan emphasized that AI was not the sole driver of the workforce reductions, attributing much of the company’s efficiency gains to years of investments in modernizing its systems and simplifying operations.
“I’ve often said that it is the icing on the cake – it’s not the cake – because you need to do the infrastructure build to get the benefits of AI,” Venkatakrishnan said, describing the technology’s role in the bank’s restructuring.
AI and the Impact on Support Functions
According to Reuters, roughly 60% of the job cuts will affect support functions, including software developers, as AI allows remaining employees to complete more work. Barclays expects its cost-cutting measures to produce approximately $1.5 billion in additional savings during 2027. The bank also announced a £500 million share buyback program, bringing its year-to-date shareholder distributions to £2.8 billion.
Broader Implications for the Workforce
The layoffs come as major corporations increasingly turn to automation to reduce labor expenses, raising concerns about the future of jobs traditionally performed by human employees. Labor representatives have warned that companies should prioritize retraining employees rather than eliminating their positions.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, accused Barclays of “using AI as an excuse to discard its loyal and long-suffering workforce,” according to the BBC. This sentiment reflects growing concerns across industries as automation reshapes the job market.
Source: Daily Caller
