NatWest Bank Cuts 1,000 Jobs in AI Overhaul
NatWest has cut 1,000 jobs in the last three months as it accelerates its AI transformation. The bank said on Friday that it had cut 1,400 jobs so far this year, with most in the last quarter.
The figures did not include the impact of the acquisition of wealth manager Evelyn Partners.
The job cuts come as NatWest rolls out AI across the bank, including for customers. Its fraud triage agent, called Cora, has dealt with 52,000 credit card customer issues, the bank said without giving a timeframe.
“Roles are changing. We’ve got new roles that are very much dedicated to AI,” said Paul Thwaite, the chief executive. “We’ve got other roles that are being changed because of AI. My job is to make sure we get the right people with the right skills doing the roles.”
NatWest is the latest bank to announce AI-linked job cuts. Earlier this week, Barclays said it was planning to cut 5,000 jobs this year in an AI-related cull.
HSBC is planning to use AI to reduce the ranks of its UK financial advisers by almost 70pc, it emerged last month.
Bill Winters, the boss of Standard Chartered, was criticised earlier this year for saying AI would replace “lower-value human capital” as he announced 8,000 redundancies.
Mr Thwaite said: “The way that we’re using AI is for the benefit of our customers and for the benefit of our colleagues. It’s helping manage our risk better and protect our customers better.”
The job numbers came as the bank reported a 3.9pc fall in profit to £1.7bn in the third quarter, partly due to a higher tax charge. The results were slightly above City estimates.
From next year, banks will face higher taxes as John Healey, the Chancellor, plans to double the bank surcharge from 3pc to 6pc for 15 months from January.
While Mr Thwaite refrained from criticising the increase directly, he said it was important that it remain time-limited.
“If we genuinely want a strong economy, we need strong banks, and that means banks using the capital they’ve got to support customers whether they’re households or whether they’re businesses because ultimately, that’s what drives the underlying growth picture,” Mr Thwaite said.
“The Chancellor laid out, obviously, an increase in the surcharge but also that it was a temporary increase. I think that’s very important because the time limit provides welcome clarity both to banks and businesses so we can plan.”
Other banks have criticised the tax increase, with JP Morgan saying it “lacks principle”. The Wall Street giant said it was unfair for the Chancellor to “single out” banks.
Mr Thwaite has made developing NatWest’s wealth management business a priority since taking over as chief executive in 2023. It is part of his plans to diversify away from income related to changes in interest rates.
This year, the bank completed the £2.7bn acquisition of Evelyn Partners, Britain’s third-largest wealth manager, its largest acquisition since the disastrous takeover of ABN Amro just before the financial crisis.