Banking giant Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs and turning to AI even though its quarterly profits jumped 12%

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused Barclays of 'using AI as an excuse to discard its loyal and long-suffering workforce'. Some 1,000 posts have already gone, with 4,000 more to go by the end of this year. That is about 5% of the bank's 93,000 global staff. Chief financial officer Anna Cross said the cuts are part of a plan to save more than £1.1bn in 2027.

Chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan called AI the 'icing on the cake, not the cake'.

About 60% of the cuts hit support functions, including 'fewer developers'.

Barclays refused to say whether its Glasgow site, with over 6,000 staff, will be hit.