Standard Chartered plans to reduce corporate function roles by more than 15% by 2030 as the bank increases its use of automation, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence across its operations.
The UK-headquartered bank set out the planned reduction as part of a wider investor update focused on growth, productivity and profitability. Reuters calculated that the reduction would amount to more than 7,000 roles, based on the bank’s support services workforce.
Standard Chartered is targeting a return on tangible equity of more than 15% in 2028, rising to around 18% in 2030. It also plans to lift income per employee by around 20% by 2028, supported by the reduction in corporate function roles.
The bank said it will scale practical uses of automation, advanced analytics and AI to streamline processes, improve decision-making, and enhance client service and internal efficiency.
Banks link AI to productivity targets
The announcement adds to a wider pattern of banks connecting AI investment with operating model changes, cost control and higher productivity targets.
Bill Winters, Standard Chartered’s group chief executive, told reporters: “It’s not cost-cutting. It’s replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we’re putting in,” according to Reuters.
The comment has drawn attention because it makes a direct link between technology investment and role reduction. However, Standard Chartered’s investor update also framed the plan as part of a broader strategy to invest in higher-growth areas, including wealth management, affluent clients, corporate and investment banking, and cross-border client activity.
“Our strategy is grounded in a simple belief: the world is becoming more connected, more complex and more cross-border. Clients need a bank that can help them navigate that environment with confidence – that is where Standard Chartered is distinctive,” Winters said in the bank’s announcement.
AI moves further into bank operations
Standard Chartered is not the only European bank linking AI to workforce planning and efficiency targets.
Commerzbank said earlier this month that it plans to invest around €600 million in AI between 2026 and 2030 as part of its ‘Momentum 2030‘ strategy. The German bank expects its AI initiatives to generate additional value of around €500 million per year from 2030 and to free up and partially redeploy around 10% of its capacities.
Commerzbank has also announced a group-wide reduction of around 3,000 gross positions, partly offset by targeted hiring in selected growth and future areas. The bank said it will use retirement programmes, natural attrition and demographic effects as part of the transformation.
The bank already uses AI in areas such as complaints management, financial crime detection and credit risk analysis. It also plans to deploy AI agents across processes including account switching, know-your-customer procedures, document checks and contract drafting.
For banks, these examples show how AI is moving from pilots and isolated tools into broader productivity plans. The focus is increasingly on back-office processes, risk analysis, operations, customer service and document-heavy workflows.
Public concern remains high
The workforce impact remains a sensitive issue. New research from King’s College London reveals that 69% of UK workers are worried about the economic impact of AI job losses, while 57% of the public think AI will lead to widespread unemployment.
The study also found that 22% of employers have already made roles redundant or reduced hiring because of AI, rising to 29% among large organisations. At the same time, 86% of employers reported at least modest productivity improvements from AI.
That split between productivity gains and job security concerns is becoming central to the debate around AI in financial services. Banks face pressure to improve returns, manage costs and invest in technology, but large-scale automation plans also raise questions about retraining, redeployment and the future of entry-level and operational roles.
Professor Bobby Duffy, Direct of The Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: “The public, workers, young people and university students are watching the rapid development of AI with more fear than excitement, with real concern for what it will do to jobs, particularly at entry levels, and, therefore, the prospects for our young people and the economy in general.
“This is perhaps no surprise when key figures, such as Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei predicted that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within 5 years. Amodei has since painted a more optimistic picture of the labour market adapting and creating new opportunities. However, the public are much less convinced about similar claims: only a quarter agree with the World Economic Forum that AI will create twice as many jobs globally as it will eliminate by 2030.”
Technology cycles and job redesign
Others see the current wave of AI-linked job changes as part of a broader technology cycle. Peter Fedoročko, CTO of GoodData, an analytics and business intelligence platform, said Standard Chartered’s planned role reductions form part of a wider pattern of companies automating routine work.
“We’re in AI’s dot-com moment. Lots of excitement, lots of noise, lots of inevitable failure.
“The dot-com crash took a decade to recover financially, but the internet reshaped everything during that time. It didn’t wipe out jobs, it transformed them. AI follows the same pattern.
“Every tech revolution looks chaotic when you’re inside it. Jobs disappear, industries wobble, everyone panics. Then you zoom out and realise we automated what we hate and created better work. If you start learning with AI now instead of fighting it, you’ll be fine when it settles.”
