Business

Banking Giant CEO Calls AI ‘Icing On The Cake’ As 5,000 Jobs Get Axed

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Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan described artificial intelligence as the “icing on the cake” Thursday as the British banking giant announced plans to eliminate roughly 5,000 jobs by year’s end.

The reductions represent approximately 5% of Barclays’ global workforce, with 1,000 positions already eliminated and another 4,000 expected to disappear before the end of 2026. The announcement accompanied third-quarter financial results showing the bank’s pretax profits climbed 12% to approximately $3.1 billion, even as executives outlined further cost reductions tied to technological modernization.

“I’ve often said that it is the icing on the cake – it’s not the cake – because you need to do the infrastructure build to get the benefits of AI,” Venkatakrishnan said, describing the technology’s role in the bank’s restructuring.

The executive emphasized that AI was not solely responsible for the workforce reductions, attributing much of the company’s efficiency gains to years of investments in modernizing its systems and simplifying business operations.

Nevertheless, roughly 60% of the job cuts will affect support functions, including software developers, as AI allows remaining employees to complete more work, according to Reuters.

Barclays expects its cost-cutting measures to produce approximately $1.5 billion in additional savings during 2027. The bank also announced a £500 million share buyback program, bringing its year-to-date shareholder distributions to £2.8 billion.

The layoffs come as major corporations increasingly turn to automation to reduce labor expenses, raising concerns about the future of jobs traditionally performed by human employees.

The banking industry’s adoption of AI has prompted warnings from labor representatives who argue companies should prioritize retraining employees rather than eliminating their positions.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, accused Barclays of “using AI as an excuse to discard its loyal and long-suffering workforce,” according to the BBC.