Senior executives at some of the world's largest banks have signaled a shift in how they communicate about artificial intelligence - from cautious experimentation to direct acknowledgement that the technology will change headcount.
At HSBC, Chief Executive Georges Elhedery told staff not to resist the arrival of generative AI, saying the bank did not want employees to be "fighting us, not disenfranchised, not anxious, overwhelmed, and resisting the change." He added that the technology could enable workers to be "more productive versions of themselves," while also warning plainly that "we all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs."
The frank language mirrors a more concrete set of decisions at Standard Chartered, which said on Tuesday it will remove almost 8,000 roles as it substitutes what its chief executive described as "lower-value human capital" with technology. Bill Winters also told staff that the bank planned to cut 15% of its corporate function roles by 2030, highlighting that back office jobs are particularly exposed.
These statements from two global lenders are among the clearest signals to date about the scale of disruption that a technology capable of ingesting and processing large volumes of data could bring to tasks traditionally performed by humans.
HSBC's workforce totals more than 211,000 employees, while Standard Chartered employs roughly 83,000 people - figures that underscore the scale at which decisions about automation could affect workers.
Broader data and industry responses
Analysts at Morgan Stanley reported that companies in banking, technology and professional services have shed roughly one in 20 staff over the past year as a consequence of deploying AI. Their work suggested that offshore employees - those who provide IT and other services from locations such as India or Poland - and younger, newer hires have borne a disproportionate share of the reductions.
Some big firms have been cautiously public about potential job changes. An internal memo previously circulated at Goldman Sachs indicated the bank had warned staff of potential cuts and a slowdown in hiring as it embraced AI. Wells Fargo's chief executive, Charlie Scharf, said in December the bank had not yet reduced its headcount because of AI, but that it was "getting a lot more done" thanks to the technology.
Managing employee reaction and the risk of backlash
Executives are balancing the operational case for AI against the risk of employee pushback. Bill Winters of Standard Chartered sent a follow-up memo intending to reassure staff, saying employees were valued and that any changes would be handled with "thought and care."
Concerns about the social and organisational consequences of rapid automation are not limited to bank boards. The chief executive of Norway's $2.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund warned that using AI to eliminate roles could provoke resistance from staff unwilling to adopt tools that might make them redundant. Academics also caution against overzealous reductions: Fabian Braesemann of the Oxford Internet Institute said employers should be cautious about letting go too many staff because "the point in time may come sooner than you think where the productivity potential of AI is realised, and you want these people."
Public opinion data cited from a study at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at King's College London indicated six in 10 people in Britain believe AI will destroy more jobs than it creates and that one in five expect it could spark civil unrest. These perceptions add to the political and reputational considerations firms must weigh.
Additional notes in coverage
The reporting also referenced a market commentary and promotional material that described an AI-powered stock selection product which evaluates companies such as Goldman Sachs alongside thousands of others using more than 100 financial metrics. That promotional content noted past winners identified by the tool, including Super Micro Computer and AppLovin, and asked whether an investor should deploy capital into Goldman Sachs at the present time.
Outlook
Bank executives and analysts agree that AI will reshape some roles even as it creates new ones. The pace and scale of that transition, which already appears to be prompting headcount reductions at certain institutions, will determine how employers manage retraining, redeployment and the wider consequences for particular segments of the financial sector and the markets that depend on them.