Barclays plans 5,000 job cuts amid £1.1bn savings drive
Barclays plans to cut about 5,000 jobs as part of a wider drive to save more than £1.1bn in 2027, with executives citing technology improvements and AI’s growing role in boosting productivity. The cuts amount to roughly 5% of its 93,000 global staff and come as the bank reported higher profits and announced another £500m for shareholders.
Chief financial officer Anna Cross said around 60% of the planned reductions would affect support functions, including developer roles; about 1,000 workers have already left this year. Chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said technology modernisation is behind most efficiency gains so far, with AI contributing and potentially becoming more important. Barclays made £2.3bn in pre-tax profit in the July-to-September quarter, up 12% year on year, and its UK retail net interest income rose 6% to £2bn. The figures come ahead of a 28 October budget in which the government is expected to increase taxes on banks, while unions argue lenders should contribute more.
In short
- Barclays plans to cut 5,000 jobs to help save more than £1.1bn.
- Executives say technology improvements drive most efficiency gains so far.
- Quarterly pre-tax profits rose 12% to £2.3bn.
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The case for
Barclays can argue that reducing costs and modernising technology are necessary to stay competitive, improve productivity and sustain investment, particularly as banking services and customer expectations change. If efficiencies allow the bank to operate more effectively, the savings could support its long-term resilience and benefit customers and shareholders; the planned cuts also focus largely on support roles, with some reductions already achieved through departures.
The case against
Workers and unions can argue that cutting thousands of jobs while profits are rising and shareholders receive another £500m risks putting cost savings ahead of employees and service quality. They may question whether technology gains justify the scale of the reductions, especially when support staff include developers who help maintain the systems the bank depends on, and argue that a highly profitable bank should protect jobs or contribute more through tax.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs as bank’s bosses hail AI productivity advances”.