Barclays plans to eliminate 5,000 positions to rein in costs using artificial intelligence. That is about 5% of headcount, and the bank said around 60% of the reductions will hit support functions, including developer roles. The total includes 1,000 jobs cut in the first half of the year.
Chief Executive Officer CS Venkatakrishnan told reporters, "We will employ AI at scale," adding, "But AI is the icing on the cake, not the cake." The move follows higher expenses earlier this year that drew investor pushback. The lender aims to complete the reductions by the end of 2026 and expects to spend about £600 million this year on the overhaul, roughly twice an earlier estimate. As of the end of 2025, Barclays' global headcount stood at about 93,000.
The job cuts landed as Barclays reported a mixed quarter in the investment bank. Total investment bank income was £3.13 billion, a slight miss.
Fixed income and currency trading revenue dropped 19% from a year ago to £1.01 billion, below analyst expectations. Equities trading rose 47% to nearly match that haul, the desk's strongest result since at least 2009. The firm pointed to weaker demand from clients across rates and credit, along with "further adversity in September due to the macroeconomic environment." Venkatakrishnan called FICC performance "somewhat disappointing." The UK retail unit held steady, while the US consumer business was essentially unchanged from a year earlier and fell short of forecasts. The bank reiterated its multi year goals, noted that quarterly operating costs came in close to expectations, and unveiled a £500 million buyback.
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Unite, the UK trade union, said it is in "urgent and frank negotiations" with Barclays and criticized the plan. "The company is using AI as an excuse to discard its loyal and long-suffering workforce," said Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary. She urged employers to upskill staff as technology changes work, saying Barclays had taken a "short-term, kneejerk approach." A Barclays representative didn't provide a comment in response to the Unite statement right away. It is not yet clear how many of the roles affected will be in the UK.
Other banks are moving the same way. HSBC is considering cutting up to 20,000 positions over the next several years, and Standard Chartered intends to reduce roles in its corporate functions by over 15% by 2030. Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said yesterday the firm is using AI to improve efficiency and controls.
Peers in the US showed similar fixed income trends, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America reporting declines of up to 17% year over year as rising rates weighed on existing debt values and muted client activity. UK lenders are also preparing for potential higher taxes on earnings in the Labour government's budget next week, with proceeds planned for cost of living support.
At 3:28 p.m. in London, Barclays shares were down about 1%, after switching direction from earlier losses. The bank says the current changes are sizable, with CFO Anna Cross pointing to both simplification of the organization and early effects from AI. The bottom line: investors face near term restructuring costs, softer fixed income trading, and a capital return via the buyback, against a multi year plan to automate more of the back office. Watch progress on expense reduction, the mix shift inside the investment bank, and any tax moves in the UK budget next week.
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