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Barclays to Cut 5,000 Jobs in A.I.-Driven Push to Lower Costs
Confirmed
In Short: Barclays is pursuing “organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI,” according to its earnings presentation.
Barclays announced plans to cut about 5,000 jobs, representing roughly five per cent of its global workforce, by the end of 2026 as part of an effort to improve efficiency through artificial intelligence (AI).
The bank’s profit after tax rose to £1.65 billion ($2.2 billion) in the third quarter, up from £1.46 billion in the same period last year.
Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said the job cuts were the result of significant investment the group has been making in technology to simplify and improve its business.
About 60% of the cuts are in support functions such as developers, and Barclays plans to spend about £600 million this year on the overhaul.
Barclays also announced a £500 million share buyback alongside the cuts.
The bank’s shares edged higher following the release of the earnings report and the announcement of its workforce reduction plans.
Barclays employed about 93,000 people globally at the end of 2025, and the job cuts represent a significant reduction in its workforce.
The bank’s performance in fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) was “somewhat disappointing,” according to Venkatakrishnan.
Barclays’ bond traders suffered the biggest slump on Wall Street during the quarter, taking the shine off a strong performance on the equities desk.
Barclays’ shares were trading as much as 2.4 per cent lower as the London market opened.
Barclays is structurally reducing costs to generate capacity for investment, and the bank is confident in and committed to its 2028 targets.
Barclays’ equities traders posted a 47 per cent jump in revenue, almost matching that revenue haul with their best performance since at least 2009.
What's confirmed
- In its earnings presentation, Barclays said it was pursuing “organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI”.
- "We will employ AI at scale," CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said on a call with reporters.
- "But AI is the icing on the cake, not the cake."
What's still developing
- “The announcement comes as the company failed to match expectations with its third-quarter performance — with the unveiling of a healthy share buyback failing to ease investors’ disappointment entirely,” Mould said.
- "They relate both to the simplification of the organization and to some of the impacts that we're starting to see from AI," Cross said.
- He urged employees to be "on the journey with us, not fighting us."
- HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery told investors and analysts in Hong Kong in May that "generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs."
- “With one quarter to go before the end of our original three-year plan, we have either achieved or are on track to achieve all of our 2026 group targets. We are confident in and committed to the 2028 targets that we laid out earlier in the year,” Venkatakrishnan said in a statement.
- Statesman News Service | London | October 22, 2026 5:35 pm British lender Barclays on Thursday, October 22, said it is cutting its staff by around 5,000 – nearly 5 per cent of its total workforce – as it introduces more artificial intelligence (AI) into its work processes.
- Traders are pricing in a 93.9% chance of a quarter-point rate hike from the ECB in December [NEW YORK] Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Barclays are forecasting the European Central Bank will tighten policy further as a renewed surge in energy prices raises concerns over inflation easing back towards target.
- Barclays said the ECB’s “no-brainer” rate hike highlighted policymakers’ continued focus on taming inflation, which the central bank does not expect to return to target until late 2027.
- While Goldman Sachs, Citi and Barclays say the ECB will raise rates again in December, Citi expects an additional hike in March 2027.
- CFO Anna Cross said on a call with analysts that the changes in the third and fourth quarters are "sizable,".