Barclays layoffs: the bank is cutting 5,000 jobs and its finance chief says AI makes its people more productive

Barclays is cutting about 5,000 jobs, roughly 5% of its 93,000 global staff, and its chief financial officer tied the cuts to AI. Announcing third-quarter results on 22 October 2026, Anna Cross said: "These actions involve an expected reduction of circa 5,000 full-time employees. Around 60% of the group actions relate to support functions, including fewer developers, as AI makes our people more productive." About 1,000 of the jobs have already gone since January. Cross said the cuts are part of plans to save more than £1.1bn in 2027, and the bank's results statement describes them as "technology-enabled FTE reductions". Asked how many of the job cuts were directly linked to AI, chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan pointed to years of investment in technology and simpler processes, and called AI "the icing on the cake" of that modernisation: "AI has an important role to play and may have a more important role to play in the future." The cuts came alongside a 12% rise in pre-tax profit to £2.3bn for July to September and a further £500m for shareholders, taking this year's payouts to £2.8bn. Standard Chartered announced earlier this year that it would cut more than 7,000 jobs over four years as it expands its use of AI. Naming developers among the roles going shows that technical staff are not exempt from AI-linked cuts at a profitable bank.