Major banks are already preparing for significant changes. Morgan Stanley has estimated that more than 200,000 banking jobs across Europe could be at risk from AI over the next five years.
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Goldman Sachs chief operating officer John Waldron recently described some back-office banking functions as resembling a “human assembly line” and said such work is likely to become increasingly digitised.
HSBC’s Elhedery also acknowledged the disruptive impact of AI, saying it would destroy certain jobs while creating others. He said the challenge for employers is to ensure staff do not feel excluded, anxious or overwhelmed by the pace of change.
The comments from senior figures across the financial sector represent one of the clearest signals yet that AI is expected to bring major upheaval to office-based employment, particularly in roles involving repetitive administrative or customer-facing tasks.
Standard Chartered’s Winters later attempted to clarify his controversial remarks. In a message to employees, he said his comments had been taken out of context and that the loss of roles should not be seen as a judgement on the value of workers themselves.
He told staff that where jobs disappear, it reflects changes in the nature of the work rather than the worth of the people doing it.
