Standard Chartered plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it boosts adoption of artificial intelligence while targeting growth.
The London-headquartered lender said on Tuesday it would cut 15% of its corporate function roles by 2030, which according to a Reuters calculation would result in more than 7,000 redundancies out of its more than 52,000 staff in such roles.
CEO Bill Winters told reporters the reduction will be driven by automation and adoption of artificial intelligence as some staff reskill. "It's not cost-cutting. It's replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital," he said.
The cuts come alongside higher shareholder return targets. StanChart said it would deliver over 15% return on tangible equity (ROTE) in 2028, building to about 18% in 2030.
The most affected roles will be with the bank's back-office centres, including those in Chennai, Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur and Warsaw.
