Barclays likely to cut about 5 pc of workforce in AI era

New Delhi: Global investment bank Barclays PLC said on Thursday it is likely to reduce at least 5 per cent of its workforce to reduce costs in the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

Barclays employed about 93,000 people globally at the end of 2025. The London-based bank said it was “structurally reducing” costs to “generate capacity for investment.”

“Structurally reducing the cost base through expected technology-enabled FTE reductions, creating capacity for further investment in the business,” said the bank in its Q2 2026 result announcement.

“Q326 structural cost actions (SCAs) of £201m (Q325: £93m), with a further c.£300m planned in Q4263. Group total costs expected to be c.£18.5bn in FY26 and c.£18.4bn in FY27,” according to the document.

CS Venkatakrishnan, Group Chief Executive, commented that “I am pleased with the ongoing momentum of Barclays' operational and financial performance, with RoTE (Return on Tangible Equity) of 11.7 per cent in Q326 and 13.8 per cent year-to-date”.

“Income of £7.4 bn is up 3 per cent from the same quarter last year. Our cost: income ratio has improved to 62 per cent from 63 per cent, profit before tax grew by 12 per cent to £2.3 billion, and our earnings per share (EPS) has increased 18 per cent,” he informed.

He further commented that with one quarter to go before the end of their 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”.

The Group has a diverse income profile across businesses and geographies. The 2 pr cent year-on-year appreciation of average GBP against USD negatively impacted income and profits, and positively impacted credit impairment charges and total operating expense, the bank's result document noted.

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