Barclays Plans 5,000 Job Cuts as AI Boosts Productivity

Barclays is planning to cut around 5,000 jobs globally in 2026 as the bank aims to boost efficiency through AI and restructuring efforts. This represents approximately 5% of the bank's workforce of about 93,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2025. Around 1,000 job cuts have already been made in the first half of the year, with the remaining 4,000 expected by year-end.

The bank predicts approximately £600 million in restructuring costs for 2026, which includes workforce reductions, technology investments, and broader operational changes. Barclays expects AI to improve employee productivity alongside other organizational and technological changes. The bank has not revealed the specific AI tools driving these workforce reductions.

Chief Financial Officer Anna Cross stated that the restructuring efforts and AI impacts are significant, though Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan emphasized that AI is a complementary tool rather than the main driver of job cuts. The move comes amid other technology-driven workforce reductions, such as Oracle's recent cuts as it shifts focus towards AI.

Barclays' restructuring efforts follow a quarter where pre-tax profit rose by 12% year-over-year to £2.3 billion, but revenue from the fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) division fell 19% to £1.01 billion. IT leaders should consider how AI productivity gains influence staffing, training, and the expertise required to maintain critical systems.

About 60% of the planned job cuts involve support functions, including developers. The bank advises IT managers to identify tasks that AI can reliably speed up and to retain human oversight for tasks that still require experienced staff, such as testing, security review, and production support.