"Great work; developers can go, too" ... UK Investment Bank to Cut 5,000 Full-Time Jobs, Saving £1.1 Billion in Costs

60% of Job Cuts Focus on Support Functions, Including Developers

British investment bank Barclays will cut 5,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI).

On October 22 (local time), The Guardian and Bloomberg reported that Barclays had decided to reduce its workforce by 5%, or about 5,000 employees, out of roughly 93,000 worldwide. Executives said the bank had already cut 1,000 jobs so far this year.

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60% of Job Cuts to Be in Support Functions; Developers Also Affected

Barclays Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Anna Cross told reporters that the cuts were part of a plan to save more than £1.1 billion (about 2 trillion won) in costs in 2027. "We expect to reduce our full-time workforce by about 5,000," Cross said. "About 60% of the cuts are related to support functions, and as AI boosts employee productivity, we also need fewer people in some roles, including developers."

Asked how many of the job cuts were directly linked to advances in AI, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) C.S. Venkatakrishnan said the bank had made substantial investments in technology and simplified its work processes. "Most of the efficiency gains we have seen so far have come from these investments," he said. "AI is playing an important role and could play an even more important role in the future."

Barclays is committing substantial funds to restructuring. The bank spent £307 million (about 544 billion won) on restructuring in the first nine months of this year and expects to incur an additional £300 million (about 531.3 billion won) in costs by the end of the year.

Barclays' third-quarter results fell short of market expectations in several key areas. Its bond-trading division posted the steepest decline among major Wall Street banks during the period, overshadowing strong performance in its equity-trading division.

Revenue from fixed-income and foreign-exchange trading fell 19% year over year to £1.01 billion (about 1.79 trillion won), below analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. By contrast, equity-trading revenue rose 47%, its strongest performance since 2009. Total investment banking revenue was £3.13 billion (5.5432 trillion won), slightly below market expectations.

Reuters-Yonhap News

Barclays said trading by clients in interest-rate and credit products had declined in its fixed-income division, and that the macroeconomic environment made conditions more challenging in September. CEO Venkatakrishnan said the performance of the fixed-income, currencies and commodities (FICC) division was "somewhat disappointing."

Union Says Bank Is "Using AI as an Excuse to Push Staff Out" as Job Cuts Spread Across Banking Sector

Following Barclays' announcement of job cuts, Sharon Graham, general secretary of the UK trade union Unite, criticized the bank, saying its employees deserved better treatment.

"The company is using AI as an excuse to push out employees who have shown long-term commitment and weathered difficult times," Graham said. "Employers should focus on upskilling employees so they can continue working even as new technologies transform the workplace." She added, "Barclays is taking a short-term, reactive approach."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.