Kroger, Barclays add to job cuts tied to AI spending: AP
- Kroger will lay off 3,000 corporate employees over the next three years.
- Barclays is looking to cut 5,000 jobs, about 5% of its workforce.
- Meta said it would lay off about 8,000 workers, about 10% of staff.
- Standard Chartered plans to cut over 15% of back-office employees by 2030.
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Kroger and Barclays have joined the companies whose layoffs this year are tied in some way to heavy spending on artificial intelligence. Kroger said it will lay off 3,000 corporate employees over the next three years, while Barclays said it is looking to cut 5,000 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce.
Banks and a grocer
The two open an Associated Press (AP) roundup of nine companies whose 2026 layoffs or hiring reductions are linked to AI spending, published by U.S. News & World Report on Oct. 23.
Barclays disclosed its cuts in a quarterly financial report, citing “organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI.” About 60% of the cuts will come from support functions, including developers.
Norway’s DNB and Germany’s Commerzbank have also announced job cuts alongside a push into AI, AP said.
“Technology is reshaping what’s possible,” Kroger CEO Greg Foran wrote in a memo to employees. “We need to adopt capabilities, reduce duplicative work and look closely at where work is best fit to be done.”
Tech firms cut and reallocate
Meta said it would lay off about 8,000 workers, or about 10% of its workforce, as it ramps up spending on AI infrastructure and highly paid AI experts. It has warned investors that its 2026 expenses could reach as much as $169 billion.
Snap is eliminating about 16% of its global workforce, or about 1,000 jobs, and Pinterest said in January it would lay off under 15% of its staff.
Block is laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000-plus employees. “A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better,” Jack Dorsey said in a letter to Block shareholders.
Coinbase is cutting about 14% of its workforce, partly because of AI. “We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native,” CEO Brian Armstrong wrote in a blog post.
Back-office roles in the cuts
Standard Chartered plans to cut more than 15% of its back office employees by 2030. The U.K.-based bank said in May that it was “scaling practical uses of automation, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to streamline processes.”
AP’s list also includes Microsoft’s offer of voluntary buyouts to about 8,750 U.S. employees in May. OA reported on Oct. 28 that Microsoft is now offering a voluntary exit package to about 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its workforce.
What it means for employers
Barclays and Standard Chartered both point their cuts at support and back-office functions.
Employers reviewing back office work as they adopt artificial intelligence (AI) can compare partners on the top AI outsourcing companies list.
Related news
- Microsoft offers voluntary exit to about 60,000, a quarter of staff · 28 Oct 2026
- AI could displace 1 in 11 workers, mostly in recessions: Goldman · 27 Oct 2026
- Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs as AI trims support roles and developers · 27 Oct 2026
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
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