Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs as AI-driven efficiency push reshapes workforce

Around 60% of the cuts are expected to come from support functions, including developer roles, with a significant proportion of affected back-office positions based in India.

Barclays plans to cut around 5,000 jobs, equivalent to about 5% of its global workforce, as the British lender simplifies its operating model and increases its use of artificial intelligence (AI), according to multiple news reports.

The bank has reportedly already eliminated around 1,000 roles, with the remaining 4,000 reductions expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Around 60% of the cuts are expected to fall on support functions, including developer roles, while the cost-reduction exercise will also focus on the bank’s UK retail operations. A significant proportion of the affected back-office roles is expected to be based in India.

Barclays Chief Financial Officer Anna Cross told reporters that the workforce changes form part of plans to deliver more than £1.1bn in savings in 2027, adding that AI is helping employees become more productive.

Chief Executive CS Venkatakrishnan was cited as saying the bank has been making “deep investments” in technology to simplify and improve its business.

“AI has an important role to play and may have a more important role to play in the future,” Venkatakrishnan said. “We will employ AI at scale. But AI is the icing on the cake, not the cake.”

The bank employed about 93,000 people globally at the end of 2025.