Barclays to Cut 5,000 Jobs as Banks Redirect Spending Toward AI

Barclays said in its quarterly financial report this week that it will cut 5,000 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce, citing "organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI." Roughly 60% of the reductions will come from support functions, including developers. The U.K. bank joins a growing list of companies trimming staff to fund AI infrastructure. Kroger will lay off 3,000 corporate employees over three years; Meta is cutting about 8,000 workers, or 10% of its workforce, with 2026 expenses projected to reach as much as $169 billion; Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to about 8,750 U.S. employees; and Standard Chartered plans to cut over 15% of back-office staff by 2030. Other firms making AI-linked reductions include Coinbase (about 14%), Pinterest (under 15%), Snap (about 16%), and Block (more than 4,000 employees). Norway's DNB and Germany's Commerzbank have announced similar cuts alongside AI pushes.