Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs as AI trims support roles and developers
- Barclays expects to cut about 5,000 full-time jobs, roughly 5% of employees.
- Around 60% of the cuts relate to support functions, including developers.
- Barclays UK call center volumes fell 10% in the past year.
- Barclays expects more than £1.1 billion ($1.5Bn) of gross efficiency savings in 2027.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Barclays expects to cut about 5,000 full-time jobs, roughly 5% of its employees, as it simplifies its organization and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make staff more productive. Around 60% of the reductions fall in support functions, including fewer developers, and employees per branch in Barclays UK are down around 10% in a year.
Support functions take most of the cuts
Group finance director Anna Cross set out the reductions in the bank’s third-quarter results call on Oct. 22. “Around 60% of the Group actions relate to support functions, including fewer developers as AI makes our people more productive,” she said.
The cuts come from structural cost actions taken this year and remain subject to collective and individual consultation as required. Barclays presented them under the heading of organizational simplification and technology change driven by AI.
Barclays UK has taken more structural cost actions than planned this year. Cross said improved customer-facing technology has reduced call center volumes by 10% in the past year, while technology inside call centers has increased colleague productivity.
Fewer staff per branch
Changes to the branch staffing model drove that branch reduction, with staff focusing on higher-value support. Cross said she no longer expects Barclays UK costs to fall this year, but is more confident of reducing them below 2025 levels in 2027 and 2028.
The bank expects more than £1.1 billion ($1.5Bn) of gross savings in 2027, up from around £0.7 billion ($940Mn) a year over the past two years. Barclays UK is guided to a cost-to-income ratio in the high 40s in 2027, falling to the mid-40s in 2028.
The cuts came as pre-tax profit grew 12% to £2.3 billion ($3.1Bn) in the quarter. Chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan said the bank is standardizing its data, modernizing its infrastructure and harmonizing its processes.
“And we will employ AI at scale: but AI is the icing on the cake, not the cake,” he said.
Where the jobs go first
Barclays’ figures show where technology is shrinking bank headcount first: support functions, developers, call centers and branches. In Barclays UK, the bank credits customer-facing technology as well as productivity tools inside its call centers.
For employers, the lesson is to plan roles before the tools arrive. Companies reshaping back office and customer service teams around AI can compare partners on the top AI outsourcing companies list.
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