Standard Chartered Bank has announced plans to reduce its support staff by more than 15% by 2030, equivalent to about 7,800 jobs, after accelerating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve efficiency. The bank is also restructuring its organization to increase profits and compete in the modern banking industry.
Standard Chartered, a major bank headquartered in London, United Kingdom, unveiled its global strategic plan, stating it will cut 15% of jobs in organizational operations and support by 2030. This is expected to result in over 7,800 layoffs from approximately 52,000 employees in these sectors, out of nearly 82,000 employees worldwide.
Bill Winters, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered, revealed that the staff reductions are driven by automation and the application of artificial intelligence (AI). He stated, "This is not just ordinary cost-cutting; in some cases, it replaces lower-value human capital with financial and investment capital that we are putting in." However, reports indicate the bank aims to redeploy some affected employees to other roles within the organization where possible.
The bank stated in a press release that it is expanding the practical use of automation, advanced analytics, and AI to streamline workflows, assist decision-making, and enhance efficiency in both customer service and internal operations. The back-office centers most affected will be in Chennai and Bangalore, India, as well as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Warsaw, Poland.
This staff reduction announcement comes near the end of Standard Chartered’s decade-long operational plan to transform from a takeover target into a financially stable and profitable institution. The bank has raised its tangible shareholder return target to over 15% by 2028 and expects it to reach around 18% by 2030, exceeding most analysts' forecasts.
Additionally, the bank continues to focus on high-return businesses, including wealthy individual clients and financial institutions within its commercial and corporate banking divisions. It has accelerated its target for net new funding of $200 billion to 2028 from the original 2029 goal, after achieving record revenues from wealth management and new client funding in the first quarter.
This announcement caused Standard Chartered’s shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to surge 2.5% during morning trading, contrasting with the relatively steady Hang Seng Index on the same day.
Standard Chartered is not the first financial institution to cut jobs to make way for AI. In February, DBS, Singapore's largest bank, announced plans to reduce about 4,000 contract and temporary staff over the next three years.
The wave of AI-related layoffs is heavily impacting workers in the technology industry and recent graduates. This year, many major tech companies investing heavily in AI tools and infrastructure have laid off substantial numbers of employees. For example, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced a 10% reduction, about 8,000 jobs, and froze hiring for thousands of positions. Amazon cut over 30,000 jobs, and Oracle reduced more than 10,000 employees earlier this year.
All these developments reflect how the global financial and technology sectors are rapidly integrating advanced AI models to boost operational efficiency and address cybersecurity threats amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties that remain major risks to the current global economy.