Barclays Plans 5,000-Role Reduction as AI Drives Structural Cost Overhaul
Barclays Plans 5,000-Role Reduction as AI Drives Structural Cost Overhaul #
Barclays has disclosed plans to eliminate approximately 5,000 jobs, around 5% of its 93,000-strong global workforce, as it pursues a drive to reduce its fixed cost base through technology investment, the bank confirmed alongside its third-quarter earnings results.
Roughly 60% of the affected positions are in support functions, including software developers, as automation tools take on tasks previously handled by back-office teams. Around 1,000 of those roles were cut during the first half of the year; the remainder are expected to go by year-end.
Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan acknowledged the bank’s ambitions in AI but framed the technology as a complement to wider structural change rather than its primary driver. “We will employ AI at scale,” he told reporters. “But AI is the icing on the cake, not the cake.” Chief Financial Officer Anna Cross said the restructuring programme is designed to generate more than £1.1 billion in annual savings by 2027, with the freed-up capital redirected towards technology investment.
The cuts were announced as Barclays reported third-quarter pre-tax profit of £2.3 billion, a 12% increase on the same period a year earlier. Despite the improvement, the result fell short of analyst expectations, with fixed-income trading revenue slumping 19%. Venkatakrishnan described that performance as “somewhat disappointing” and said it would receive his personal attention. Equities trading partially offset the shortfall, with revenues up 47% year-on-year.
The bank took £201 million in structural cost actions during the third quarter, which it described as part of its strategy to “structurally reduce” costs in order to “generate capacity for investment.” A further £300 million in cost-cutting is planned for the final quarter. Barclays also announced a £500 million share buyback.
Investors have been scrutinising the bank’s cost trajectory since it posted unexpectedly high expenses in its half-year results, despite having already flagged a cost-reduction programme earlier in the year. The disclosure is among the more explicit acknowledgements by a major bank that AI is enabling headcount reductions in technology and support roles.
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