Barclays Cuts 5,000 Jobs as AI Drives Cost Savings

Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs, the bank confirmed, as part of a wider cost-cutting drive. The cuts represent about 5% of the bank's 93,000 global staff. The bank's bosses said the reductions have been driven by advances in artificial intelligence.

By Career Ahead AI — AI-assisted, fact-verified against cited sources. Readers should verify key facts.

AI Drives the Cuts

Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs, about 5% of its 93,000 global staff. The majority, 60%, affect support roles. The bank's bosses said the cuts have been driven by advances in artificial intelligence.^¹

Chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said the bank had been making deep investments in its technology. He called AI the icing on the cake to modernising the bank's technology.^¹

AI Drives the Cuts Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs, about 5% of its 93,000 global staff.

Savings Target and Financial Chief

The job cuts are part of plans to save more than £1.1bn in 2027. The bank's chief financial officer, Anna Cross, told reporters about the expected reduction of circa 5,000 full-time employees.^¹

Around 60% of the group actions relate to support functions, including technology developers.^¹

Standard Chartered Follows Suit

Standard Chartered announced plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years. It will mean slashing around 15% of its back-office roles by 2030.^¹

Support Roles Face the Sharpest AI Cuts

If you work in a support function—including technology development—your role sits in the most exposed category. Barclays' 5,000 job cuts hit 60% of support roles, and Standard Chartered plans to remove 15% of back-office roles by 2030. When weighing a job offer, ask whether your position is classified as support or revenue-generating. A support title carries a higher risk of being part of the next cost-saving round, so factor that into your negotiation for pay or role scope.^¹

The cuts are explicitly driven by advances in artificial intelligence, not just cyclical cost pressure. Barclays' chief executive called AI the 'icing on the cake' of modernising the bank's technology. That means building skills that complement AI—rather than compete with it—matters more for support roles. If you are a technology developer in banking, position yourself on projects that integrate AI into existing systems, since those are the areas the bank is investing in while cutting elsewhere.^¹

Support Roles Face the Sharpest AI Cuts If you work in a support function—including technology development—your role sits in the most exposed category.