Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs this year as bank turns to AI

Barclays expects to cut around 5,000 jobs by the end of 2026 as it adopts artificial intelligence to make operations more efficient. <i>(Image: David Franklin/Getty)</i>
Barclays expects to cut around 5,000 jobs by the end of 2026 as it adopts artificial intelligence to make operations more efficient. (Image: David Franklin/Getty)
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.

Around 5,000 bank workers face losing their jobs after Barclays turned to artificial intelligence.

The banking group expects to complete the staff reductions by the end of 2026 as part of efforts to make operations more efficient.

These cuts represent roughly 5% of its workforce, which totalled around 93,000 employees globally at the end of 2025.

Some 1,000 of the roles were cut during the first six months of 2026, with the remainder spread across the second half of the year.

Most of the job losses affect operational and functional positions across the organisation, including roles such as developers.

Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan, known within the bank as Venkat, said the move was “a result of the investments which we’ve made into technology over a number of years and which we continue to make”.

Barclays is nearing the conclusion of a three-year strategy designed to increase performance through major cost-cutting and expanded technological capabilities.

During the third quarter, the company carried out approximately £200 million worth of “structural cost actions”, taking total savings this year to around £600 million.

While the bulk of those savings came from the UK retail bank, a proportion was also cut from its investment bank.

A further £300 million worth of savings is planned for the final three months of the year.

The announcement came alongside quarterly financial results showing pre-tax profit climbed 12% to £2.3 billion for the three months to the end of September.

Get involved
with the news

Send your news & photos