StanChart to cut over 7,000 jobs, boost AI to replace ‘lower-value human capital’

By Selena Li

HONG KONG, May 19 (Reuters) – Standard Chartered will eliminate more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it seeks to replace “lower-value human capital” with technology, becoming one of the top names in finance to target headcount cuts using artificial intelligence.

The London-headquartered lender on Tuesday cited AI as a driver to make its operations slimmer in its goal to increase profitability and tackle competition. 

StanChart said 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.

“It’s not cost-cutting. It’s replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we’re putting in,” CEO Bill Winters told reporters.

The bank has a total global staff of nearly 82,000. Winters told reporters the reduction will be driven by automation and adoption of artificial intelligence as some staff retrain.

“So, the people that want to reskill, that want to carry on, we’re giving every opportunity to reposition,” Winters said, referring to the retraining option given to impacted staff.

The cuts, alongside higher shareholder return targets announced in a strategy update, come as StanChart is at the tail-end of a decade-long effort to transform itself from a potential takeover target to a steadily profitable lender.

Its London-listed shares, which have risen 65% in the last 12 months, fell 0.5% in early trading, as analysts said the new targets were at the conservative end of their expectations.

“In a world full of uncertainty, performance may prove more challenging further out,” said Ed Firth, analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, citing how the bank has benefited in recent years from high interest rates and huge wealth flows.

StanChart’s move to streamline operations and rein in costs comes as more global firms slash jobs by deploying AI to improve efficiency. Japanese lender Mizuho in March unveiled up to 5,000 job cuts over a decade. And banks globally are scrambling to integrate frontier AI models and fend off rising cyber threats.

The most affected roles will be in the bank’s back-office centres, including those in Chennai, Bengaluru, Kuala Lumpur and Warsaw, according to Winters. 

“Of course we’re using AI along the way and AI will be a huge facilitator and enabler of that,” he added, referring to its ongoing revamp to automate more of its core banking system.

CONSERVATIVE TARGETS

StanChart said it would deliver over 15% return on tangible equity (ROTE) in 2028, more than three percentage points higher than in 2025, and building to about 18% in 2030.

The bank is underpinning its new target by keeping its focus on higher-margin businesses, including affluent retail clients and financial institutions within its corporate and investment banking division.

Notably the lender pulled forward a goal of attracting $200 billion of net new money to 2028 from the previously set 2029. In the first quarter, the bank reported both its highest wealth revenue and new client money.

StanChart, which focuses on the Asia-Pacific and Africa, is seeking to deliver stronger growth even as geopolitical uncertainty clouds the outlook for some of its key markets.

Asia-Pacific banks may need to raise loan-loss provisions further if the Iran conflict drags on, as higher energy costs and weaker growth strain borrowers, analysts have said.

StanChart set aside $190 million in precautionary provisions linked to the Middle East conflict in the first quarter.

“We are extremely resilient,” Winters said when asked about the impact of geopolitical and market risks on the bank’s ability to reach the targets. 

The update on Tuesday also comes as StanChart seeks to quell market speculation about succession planning after Winters’ 11-year stint at the helm, saying he will be around for the next few years to see through the latest strategy.

On Monday, the lender named Manus Costello, investor relations head and equity research veteran, as its permanent CFO, succeeding Diego De Giorgi, who resigned in February after nearly three years with the bank.

(Reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong, Lawrence White in London, and Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Muralikumar Anantharaman)