HR edition
Barclays is cutting jobs and says AI is only partly the reason, Dutch employees fear for their jobs, and a Meta AI assistant let conversations leak.
Barclays cuts 5,000 jobs and points partly to AI
Barclays is cutting about 5,000 jobs. That is around 5% of its 93,000 employees worldwide. 1,000 people have already left this year. The bank wants to save more than £1.1 billion in 2027. Chief financial officer Anna Cross says about 60% of the measures affect support roles. These include fewer software developers, because AI makes people more productive. CEO CS Venkatakrishnan puts the emphasis differently. According to him, the efficiency gains come mainly from investment in technology and simpler ways of working. He calls AI 'icing on the cake'. AI may become more important later, he says. The union Unite is critical. General secretary Sharon Graham says Barclays is using AI as an excuse. In her view, employers should retrain staff so they keep their jobs. In the third quarter the bank made £2.3 billion in profit before tax, 12% more than a year earlier.
Background for subscribersEmployees will ask how much AI really plays a role in a reorganisation, and at Barclays the union already calls AI an excuse. Prepare an answer that names AI separately from other reasons, such as technology and simpler ways of working. In the Netherlands, 60 percent of respondents say they know too little about their own rights when dismissed because of automation, so explain that too.
Seven in ten employees fear AI for their jobs
A survey by Rechtsbijstandverzekering.nl of 1,500 Dutch employees shows that seven in ten are worried about AI and their jobs. Of them, 69 percent think AI can partly or fully take over their work. Almost six in ten (62 percent) expect to lose their job to AI within five years. Younger employees are especially worried. In addition, 72 percent expect more conflicts between employers and employees, and 60 percent say they know too little about their own rights when dismissed because of automation. Legally, AI is not a ground for dismissal in itself. An employer cannot simply dismiss someone because AI can do tasks. If a job disappears because of AI, the employer must justify the business-economic need and check whether redeployment is possible, if necessary after training.
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