Singaporean bank cuts 4,000 jobs replacing them with AI

DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest financial institution, is set to cut 4,000 temporary and contract positions over the next three years as artificial intelligence (AI) assumes more responsibilities, BBC reported.

The bank confirmed that permanent employees will not be impacted, and the reductions will occur through "natural attrition" as projects conclude. Additionally, DBS plans to create around 1,000 AI-related roles, positioning itself as a leader in AI adoption within the banking industry.

"Over the next three years, we envisage that AI could reduce the need to renew about 4,000 temporary/contract staff across our 19 markets working on specific projects," a bank spokesperson explained.

DBS currently employs between 8,000 and 9,000 temporary and contract workers, with an overall workforce of about 41,000.

Outgoing CEO Piyush Gupta, who will be succeeded by Deputy CEO Tan Su Shan in March, stated that AI has been a key focus for the bank for over a decade. "We today deploy over 800 AI models across 350 use cases, and expect the measured economic impact of these to exceed S$1bn ($745m; £592m) in 2025," he said.

The global impact of AI on jobs has been widely debated, with the IMF estimating that nearly 40% of jobs could be affected. However, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has suggested that AI will not eliminate jobs but will instead reshape them.