British multinational bank Standard Chartered just announced that it will cut 15% of corporate roles through 2030 and replace 'lower-value human capital' with AI. According to a Reuters estimate, this accounts for about 7,000 positions across the bank’s 52,000 employees executing corporate functions, or more than 8.5% of its total workforce of 82,000. The lender made this announcement as it set higher goals for the same period, aiming to increase its return on tangible equity to 18% during the same period, 6% increase from what it achieved in 2025.
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Standard Chartered is joining the growing number of companies cutting their headcounts in favor of AI. The tech industry alone has cut nearly 80,000 positions during the first quarter of 2026, with almost half of them reportedly made redundant because of the technology. In fact, an MIT study said that AI can replace 11.7% of all U.S. workers, impacting every industry in every state. However, there have also been reports that the AI-driven layoffs were actually caused by poor business performance, with artificial intelligence being simply being used as a scapegoat for wrong decisions in the boardroom — a thought that OpenAI boss Sam Altman reiterated in a CNBC interview.
On the other hand, we’ve also seen reports coming from Europe that companies widely deploying AI tools and investing heavily in them are more likely to hire new people. It’s said that companies using AI properly tend to be more productive and increase their profitability, allowing them to hire more people as they expand their operations. Microsoft even released a study about this phenomenon called “Transformation Paradox,” in which only 20% of companies deploying AI are doing so effectively, with more than half of surveyed employees still unsure how their firms are going through the AI revolution.
Standard Chartered’s move to cut such a huge number of positions will certainly be a cause for concern for all affected employees. And even though the company is offering to retrain and reskill them, the uncertainty of whether or not they’ll still have a job in the coming years will stress a huge number of its staff as the bank transitions towards a more automated future.
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