Barclays cutting 5,000 jobs as it increases reliance on AI

Barclays is cutting its staff by around 5,000 as it introduces more artificial intelligence (AI) into its work processes.

The banking group said 1,000 posts had already been closed and it expects a further reduction of 4,000 to be complete by the end of this year.

The cuts amount to 5% of its global workforce with most of them among operational and functional roles.

Barclays said the changes were the result of an ongoing modernisation plan, with the use of AI being the "icing on the cake" of its strategy.

The banking group is reaching the end of a three year cost-cutting programme focused primarily on its UK retail banking arm, although the investment banking division is also affected.

Barclays also revealed it made £2.3bn profit in the three months to September, higher than the same period a year ago, but slightly less than forecast.

Economists have been watching companies' results carefully for signs that investment in new technology, and AI specifically, is making a difference in their day-to-day operations, leading to greater efficiency and lower employment.

Barclays Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said the job cuts were the result of significant investment it is making in technology to simplify and improve its business.

"That is driving the bulk of the efficiency gains that you've seen so far," he said.

"AI has an important role to play and may have a more important role to play in the future.

"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."

Barclays said around 60% of the job cuts will fall within its support functions, including among developers.

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