Barclays cutting 5,000 jobs as it increases reliance on AI - BBC

Barclays is cutting around 5,000 staff as it introduces more artificial intelligence into its work processes, the BBC reported. According to the report, 1,000 posts have already closed, and the bank expects a further reduction of 4,000 by the end of this year. Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan is quoted in the report discussing how the bank views the technology's role in its operations.

Venkatakrishnan said AI is "the icing on the cake – it's not the cake", and that the infrastructure build comes first. The BBC report presented the 5,000 figure as the combination of the 1,000 posts already closed and the 4,000 further reduction the bank expects to complete before the year ends. The report described the cuts as coming as Barclays increases its reliance on artificial intelligence across its work processes.

The report did not set out which roles or business areas are affected by the reduction, and gave no timeline beyond the end of this year for the remaining 4,000. It quoted the chief executive's cake metaphor as the bank's characterisation of the sequencing, with infrastructure work preceding the use of AI in work processes. The excerpt did not state a cost attached to the reduction, nor the bank's total headcount.