The key facts
- Barclays is cutting around 5,000 jobs — 5% of its global workforce; 1,000 already closed, another 4,000 by the end of 2026
- About 60% of the cuts will fall on support functions, including developers
- Profit for the quarter to September was £2.3 billion — higher than a year earlier, but slightly below forecasts
Scale of the cuts
Banking group Barclays is cutting its workforce by around 5,000 people in connection with the introduction of artificial intelligence into workflows. According to the bank, 1,000 positions have already been closed, and the reduction of another 4,000 is expected by the end of the current year. The cuts amount to about 5% of the global workforce and primarily affect operational and functional roles. About 60% of the cuts will fall on support functions, including among developers.
Context of the modernisation programme
Barclays links the changes to its ongoing modernisation programme, in which the use of AI, according to the bank, is merely the 'icing on the cake' of the strategy. The group is completing a three-year cost-reduction programme focused primarily on the British retail division, although the investment banking arm is also affected.
Management's position
Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said the cuts were the result of significant investments in technology to simplify and improve the business. According to him, this is precisely what delivers the bulk of the achieved efficiency gains, while AI 'plays an important role and can play an even more important role in the future'. He stressed that AI is 'the icing on the cake, not the cake itself', since an infrastructure base is needed to reap the benefits of AI.
Financial results
Barclays also reported a profit of £2.3 billion for the three months to September — higher than in the same period a year earlier, but slightly below forecasts. Economists are closely watching corporate earnings reports for signs that investments in new technologies, and in AI in particular, are boosting efficiency and affecting employment.
Image source, Getty Images 
