Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs as part of cost-saving plans driven by advances in artificial intelligence, the bank announced on Thursday. The reduction represents about 5% of Barclays' 93,000 global staff, with executives confirming the bank had already cut 1,000 workers since the start of the year.
The bank's chief financial officer, Anna Cross, said the job cuts were part of plans to save more than £1.1bn in 2027. Around 60% of the cuts would affect support functions, including fewer developers, as AI makes staff more productive, she told reporters. Chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan described the bank's deep investments in technology and process simplification as the main driver of efficiency gains, with AI playing an important supporting role that may become more significant in future.
The announcement comes as Barclays reported strong financial results. Pre-tax profits for the third quarter reached £2.3bn, up 12% from £2.1bn in the same period last year. Net interest income at its UK retail banking operations rose 6% to £2bn. The bank also announced plans to hand a further £500m to investors, bringing total shareholder returns since January to £2.8bn through buybacks and dividends.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, criticized the decision. She said Barclays workers "deserve better" and accused the company of "using AI as an excuse to discard its loyal and long-suffering workforce". She called for employers to focus on upgrading employee skills instead of taking what she described as a "short-term, kneejerk approach".
The moves echo similar announcements elsewhere in the sector. Standard Chartered, another UK-headquartered bank, announced plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years while ramping up AI use, including slashing about 15% of back-office roles by 2030. Barclays' strong financial performance is likely to feature in discussions around potential increases to bank taxes in the upcoming budget, though the bank's chief executive said it could absorb higher levies.
For savers and borrowers in the UK, the job cuts and continued bank profitability may affect the availability and pricing of banking services while the strong profits underscore debate over whether lenders should contribute more in taxes.