British bank Barclays (BCS) is cutting 5,000 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce, as it employs artificial intelligence (A.I.) to help streamline its operations.
In a statement, Barclays said that it is “structurally reducing the cost base to generate capacity for investment.”
About 60% of the job cuts are expected to impact support roles at the lender, including developers, as it pushes for “efficiency driven by A.I.”
News of the layoffs comes as Barclays, one of the United Kingdom’s leading banks, reported its latest financial results.
For the year’s third-quarter, Barclays announced that its pre-tax profit rose 12% year-over-year to £2.3 billion ($3.1 billion U.S.). That result matched analysts’ forecasts.
Revenue in the period came in at £7.4 billion, below analysts’ consensus estimate of £7.61 billion.
Net interest income was unchanged at £3.91 billion, and the bank’s return on tangible equity fell to 11.7% from 16.1% a year earlier.
BCS stock has gained 11% over the past year to trade at $22.60 U.S. a share in New York.
