Barclays to Cut 5,000 Jobs in AI-Driven Efficiency Push Targeting Over £1.1 Billion
The British bank will cut five percent of its workforce through 2026, citing organizational simplification and technology-driven efficiency, with about 60 percent of cuts hitting support functions.
Barclays will cut around 5,000 jobs, five percent of its roughly 93,000-strong workforce, during 2026, with about 1,000 reductions already completed in the first half. The bank attributed the move to "organizational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI", and expects efficiency gains exceeding £1.1 billion next year. Around 60 percent of the cuts affect support functions, including developers. The news, first reported October 22 by Reuters and confirmed by other outlets, follows Standard Chartered's reduction of more than 7,000 roles by May 2026.
CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan described AI as "the icing on the cake, not the cake", emphasizing that infrastructure modernization comes first. The announcement marks the transition of AI in banking from experimentation to measurable cost reduction, a trend being watched closely by regulators and banks across Asia.