Barclays expects to reduce its full-time workforce by about 5,000 as it combines AI, technology upgrades and process changes in a wider effort to lower costs and fund investment.
Group Finance Director Anna Cross outlined the plan on the bank’s Oct. 22 third-quarter results call. She said about 60% of the group’s related actions involve support functions, including fewer developer roles. Cross linked the developer changes to greater employee productivity from artificial intelligence (AI). The 60% figure refers to related actions, not a stated share of the planned workforce reduction.
Group Chief Executive C. S. Venkatakrishnan described AI as one element of a broader technology and process effort. Barclays is working to standardize data, upgrade infrastructure and align processes. “AI is the icing on the cake, not the cake,” Venkatakrishnan said.
The bank reported pretax profit of £2.322 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2026, up 12% from a year earlier. Group income rose 3% to £7.4 billion. Fixed income, currencies and commodities income fell 19% to £1.012 billion, while equities income increased 47% to £1.010 billion.
Barclays said it took £201 million in structural cost actions during the quarter and planned about £300 million more in the fourth quarter. It forecast total group costs of about £18.5 billion in 2026 and £18.4 billion in 2027.
Cross said the bank expects more than £1.1 billion in gross efficiency savings in 2027. Barclays said it had delivered about £700 million in annual gross savings over the previous two years. The planned fourth-quarter cost actions are the next stage in the bank’s broader efficiency program.
