Barclays is reducing its global workforce by around 5,000 roles, equivalent to roughly 5% of its staff. According to the BBC, the bank has already cut 1,000 positions and plans to remove a further 4,000 by the end of 2026. The changes form part of a wider modernisation and cost-cutting programme in which artificial intelligence plays a significant role.
The scale of the cuts announced on 22 October does not mean all those jobs will disappear in the UK. The programme focuses primarily on UK retail banking, which serves individual customers, but also covers investment banking. Some back-office functions supporting the UK business are based in India, where the BBC reports a substantial share of the cuts is expected to fall. No precise breakdown by country has been given.
Technology intended to simplify the bank’s operations
According to Barclays, around 60% of the reductions will affect support functions, including software development roles. Group chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan linked the workforce reductions to investment in technology intended to simplify the bank’s operations.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has an important place in that strategy, but it is not the only element of the restructuring. Venkatakrishnan also pointed to broader technological changes and the need to expand infrastructure. The announced cuts therefore cannot all be attributed solely to AI replacing employees.
Job cuts alongside £2.3 billion profit
The announcement coincided with the publication of financial results. Barclays reported a profit of £2.3 billion for the three months to September 2026. According to the BBC, that was higher than a year earlier, but slightly below forecasts.
The bank expects its efficiency measures to deliver an additional £1.1 billion in savings in 2027. That is a projected benefit of the programme, rather than savings already achieved. Similarly, most of the announced job cuts have yet to take place: of the roughly 5,000 roles affected, 1,000 have been removed so far.
