Standard Chartered to cut 8,000 jobs with AI

UK bank Standard Chartered has announced plans to replace about 8,000 jobs, equivalent to 15% of its total workforce, with AI by 2030.

CEO Bill Winters said at an announcement event in Hong Kong that the bank would replace "low-value human capital" with AI. The phrase drew strong criticism online, with former Singapore President Halimah Yacob posting on Facebook that "referring to employees in such terms is very concerning." The Financial Times blog even produced merchandise mocking the phrase.

CEO Winters later clarified in an internal memo that the workforce reduction reflects changes in work processes and is not an assessment of employees' worth. He emphasized that the decision is not simply about cost-cutting but a strategy to convert human resources into financial and investment capital.

This reflects a broader trend across the financial industry. Another major UK bank, HSBC, recently also mentioned the possibility of cutting up to 20,000 jobs due to the adoption of new technology. This shows that financial institutions are entering a phase of large-scale automation, replacing traditional administrative work with algorithms.