Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs, and AI is getting part of the blame. But is AI really behind these layoffs?
The bank plans to reduce its workforce by around 5%, mainly across back-office and support functions.
Barclays is also targeting more than £1.1 billion in savings in 2027, partly through AI-driven efficiency.
But here’s what’s interesting.
Barclays has been cutting costs for three years, long before AI became a common explanation for layoffs.
CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan even described AI as the “icing on the cake”, suggesting broader organisational changes are driving the reductions.
The announcement also comes as Barclays reported £2.3 billion in quarterly profit, below analysts’ expectations of £2.4 billion.
So how much of this is genuine AI-driven efficiency, and how much is traditional cost-cutting under an AI label?
Otabek and I discussed this on our latest On The Ground Podcast episode.
AI will certainly change banking jobs, but I’d like to see how much of these savings can actually be attributed to AI.
Transcript
Transcript
Transcript
Barclays is cutting about 5000 jobs and around 5% of staff worldwide. It announced the cards on Thursday with its third quarter results. About 1000 jobs have already gone this year and the other 4000 will be gone by the end of 2026. And Barclays results presentation talks about efficiency driven by AI and the banks expect to save more than ��1.1 billion in 2027. Automatic is. These are really AI or just cost cutting with AI label on it? Well, I think it’s partly AI. Yes, many companies are seeing efficiency. The CEO of Barclays, Venkatakrishnan, on the call said AI is the icing on the cake, but it’s not the actual cake. It came out at the same time when they missed the profit target. The market was expecting them to make ��2. 4 billion profit in this quarter. They did 2.3. Billion O. Again, AI whitewashing or excuses for not missing the target. That’s that’s a question that I think many analysts are are asking.