Indian American banker CS Venkatakrishnan is overseeing a major workforce restructuring at Barclays, as the British banking giant plans to cut about 5,000 jobs by the end of 2026 while expanding its use of artificial intelligence to improve efficiency.
Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, is the group chief executive of Barclays. The bank’s planned reductions represent about 5% of its global workforce of approximately 93,000 employees at the end of 2025. About 1,000 positions have already been eliminated, with the remaining cuts expected by year-end. Around 60% of the reductions are expected to affect support functions, including software development roles.
Speaking about the bank’s technology investments, Venkatakrishnan said AI is becoming an increasingly important part of its efforts to simplify operations and reduce costs. He attributed the efficiency gains to investments Barclays has made in technology over several years and continues to pursue.
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“AI has an important role to play and may have a more important role to play in the future,” he said.
However, the Barclays chief executive stressed that AI cannot deliver its full benefits without the underlying technological infrastructure. He has described the technology as “the icing on the cake,” rather than the cake itself, highlighting the need to modernize systems and improve processes before deploying AI effectively.
“Where the infrastructure is modern, we’ve been applying it here,” he said.
The job cuts reflect a broader shift across the banking industry, where financial institutions are increasingly using AI and automation to handle tasks that previously required human involvement. Software development and back-office operations are among the areas facing changes as banks seek to improve productivity and lower expenses.
Barclays said it was reducing costs to create room for investment while preparing its workforce for changing business requirements. A spokesperson said the bank remained committed to helping employees develop skills and build careers as it adapts to customer needs.
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The announcement came as Barclays reported third-quarter pretax profit of £2.3 billion, or approximately $3.08 billion, up 12% from a year earlier. However, the results fell short of analysts’ expectations, largely because of weaker performance in fixed-income trading. Revenue from the bank’s fixed-income, currencies and commodities trading business fell 19% year over year to about $1.4 billion.
Venkatakrishnan expressed disappointment with the trading performance and said it would receive his attention. Barclays shares slipped following the earnings announcement, as investors assessed the results alongside the bank’s cost-cutting plans.
For Venkatakrishnan, the challenge remains to continue modernizing one of the world’s major banking institutions while improving returns and managing the impact of technological change on its workforce.