Crossover: American Express and Barclays Cut Thousands of Jobs, and Banks Are Naming AI as the Reason

Key points

Barclays said it would lay off 5% of its workforce, nearly 5,000 workers, as it shifts more of its operations to AI systems ¹.
News of deep job cuts at American Express arrived one day after the Barclays announcement, making it a bad week for banking and financial services workers ¹.
Reporting on the wider trend says the cost of building AI infrastructure is changing how big companies allocate money, and in many cases that means moving funds once spent on people toward AI capability ².
Fears of an AI spending bubble are growing, but the effect on workers in some sectors, banking included, is already visible ².

One Week, Two Banking Giants

The pattern showed up fast. Barclays, the UK banking giant, announced it would lay off 5% of its workforce, close to 5,000 people, as it moves more of the bank’s operations onto artificial intelligence systems ¹. One day later came news of deep job cuts at American Express, with thousands of roles reportedly slashed in what was framed as an AI push ¹. Neither move happened in isolation, and the coverage itself treated them as a pair.

That framing is the story. Financial services is not where most people expect the first big AI-linked job losses, yet two household names in the sector landed in the same news cycle with the same stated rationale.

Image from fastcompany.com — Image: fastcompany.com

Following the Money, Not Just the Machines

The broader reporting adds a layer the individual announcements can obscure. The cost of building the infrastructure needed to meet booming AI demand is changing how major companies allocate resources ². In some cases that does mean the end of jobs once done by humans. In many others it means repurposing money once spent on workers so more capital can go toward boosting AI capabilities ².

Read that way, the Barclays and American Express cuts are as much about budgets as about software. AI is the justification, but it is also the destination for the savings. The sources do not break down how much of either bank’s cuts reflects tasks actually automated versus funds redirected, and that distinction matters for anyone judging whether AI is really doing the work.

Why Banks Move First

The sources do not explain why banks are leading, so any answer is inference. Still, the logic is easy to see. Large financial institutions run on processes and large payrolls, and that makes them natural candidates for the kind of operational shift Barclays described ¹. Announcing cuts and tying them to AI also signals to investors a modern, efficiency-minded strategy.

That is also why skepticism is warranted. Fears of a bubble in AI spending are growing ², and a company citing AI for a layoff is making a claim that is hard for outsiders to verify. The reporting confirms the stated reasons, not whether the technology is the true cause.

What Comes Next for Financial Workers

The impact on workers in some sectors is clear, even if the size of the AI bubble is not ². Job losses in financial services are piling up, and two announcements in two days will make other institutions face questions from staff, investors and regulators about their own plans ¹.

The test ahead is transparency. If banks keep presenting AI as the reason for reductions, the useful follow-up is how many roles were truly automated, how many were cut to fund AI spending, and whether the promised efficiency arrives. Until then, the banks are first to cut, and the rest of the economy is watching what they say it means.

Primary sources

American Express layoffs: Thousands of roles slashed in AI push as job losses in financial services pile up (fastcompany.com) – A Fast Company piece reporting deep job cuts at American Express, with thousands of roles slashed in an AI push, arriving one day after Barclays announced a similar move. It notes that Barclays said it would lay off 5% of its workforce, nearly 5,000 workers, as it transitions more operations to AI systems, and frames the week as a rough one for banking and financial sector workers. Only an excerpt was available, so details beyond that are not drawn on. Published on fastcompany.com.
Barclays is the latest company to trim its workforce for AI efficiency (fastcompany.com) – A Fast Company roundup-style item on Barclays and other companies announcing layoffs or hiring reductions this year tied in some way to massive AI spending. It says the cost of building AI infrastructure is changing how major companies allocate resources, sometimes ending jobs once done by humans but often redirecting money once spent on workers toward AI capabilities, and it notes growing bubble fears alongside clear impact on workers in some sectors. Only an excerpt was available. Published on fastcompany.com.