Barclays Plans 5,000 Job Cuts Citing Artificial Intelligence
Barclays said Thursday it plans to cut 5,000 jobs. About 1,000 of these cuts happened in the first half of 2026.
The other 4,000 are expected by the end of the fourth quarter. The bank cites efficiency savings from artificial intelligence.
Barclays says using more technology leads to a 5% workforce cut. MarketWatch reported Barclays relies on artificial intelligence for back-office tasks.
Reports say about 60% of cuts hit support jobs such as developers. The chief executive said artificial intelligence builds on years of technology investment.
Klear Note — Artificial intelligence is software that can perform tasks once done by people. Back-office tasks are internal work, such as processing records, not customer service.
Key Terms 3
- artificial intelligence Computer systems that do tasks normally requiring human thinking, such as analyzing information
- back-office tasks Behind-the-scenes work like record keeping and payments, not work done directly with customers
- workforce All the people a company employs