Barclays plans 5,000 job cuts as bank steps up AI adoption

Barclays plans to cut 5,000 jobs this year, about 5% of its workforce, as part of a broader cost-cutting programme, with developers bearing the brunt. About 60% of the cuts are in support functions as 'AI makes our people more productive', and 1,000 jobs were already cut in the first half. The bank spent £307mn on restructuring in the first nine months and expects another £300mn by the end of 2026. CEO CS Venkatakrishnan hedged the AI framing: 'We will employ the AI at scale but AI is the icing on the cake not the cake.' The cuts came with third-quarter results that missed expectations: pre-tax profit rose 12% to £2.3bn against analysts' £2.42bn, and revenue rose 3% to £7.4bn. Investment-bank income was flat, as fixed-income trading profit fell 19% while equities had their best quarter in over a decade (~£1bn revenue, income up nearly 50% on prime brokerage and equity derivatives). Costs rose 6%, including extra payments to high performers after pay-rule changes. Venkatakrishnan said he was 'very disappointed' with fixed income. The shares fell 2% early, then recovered. Context: HSBC is planning sweeping AI-linked UK wealth job cuts, and there are fears of a bank tax rise in next week's Budget. Caveats: the cuts sit inside an existing restructuring and a profit miss, the CEO calls AI secondary, and no savings target or geographic split is given.