Banking giant Barclays has unveiled plans to cut around 5,000 jobs this year, roughly 5% of its global workforce, linked to linked to AI-driven efficiency measures, which overshadowed a strong rise in third-quarter pre-tax profit and £500m share buyback.

The job cuts are expected to fall mainly on support and operational functions, including technology-related roles, with executives saying the reductions are linked to years of investment in automation and AI. Around 1,000 positions have already been removed, with the remainder expected to go by the end of the year.

The announcement came alongside third-quarter results that showed profits rising, but falling slightly short of market expectations.

The lender reported pre-tax profit of £2.3bn for the three months to September, up 12% from a year earlier, while group income reached £7.4bn.

There was strong performance in the equities segment, where total income rose 47% to £1bn, reflecting prior investment in prime financing and equity derivatives. This helped to offset a 19% drop in income to £1bn in FICC (Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities), on the back of lower client activity in rates and credit into the second half of the quarter, and "further adversity" in September due to the macroeconomic environment.

Barclays also announced a £500m share buyback.

CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan said: “I am pleased with the ongoing momentum of Barclays' operational and financial performance. With one quarter to go before the end of our original three-year plan, we have either achieved or are on track to achieve all of our 2026 Group targets. We are confident in and committed to the 2028 targets that we laid out earlier in the year."

The stock was trading flat 419.5p on Thusrday.

With Barclays the first major UK bank to report this earnings season, investors and consumers will be watching closely as the growing adoption of AI is beginning to reshape employment across the financial sector.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Barclays is reaching for the AI lever, expecting to cut a decent chunk of its workforce as it expands the use of artificial intelligence across its operations.

"Barclays is an outlier compared with UK counterparts Lloyds and NatWest thanks to its meaningful investment banking presence.

"Across the wider group costs went up and Barclays shareholders are also having to contend with two major clouds over the business. The first being a widely expected increase in tax on the sector in next week's Autumn Budget and the other being a reported probe into possible misrepresentation of risks in its private credit portfolio."

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