巴克莱银行推进技术重组拟裁员5000人Barclays Cuts 5,000 Jobs in Technology Efficiency Drive

巴克莱首席财务官安娜·克罗斯周四向媒体说明，5,000个全职员工裁减目标是全行在2027年节省逾11亿英镑开支规划的具体落地措施。该行已在今年初至今落实了1,000名员工的离职程序，剩余约4,000个岗位的压缩集中在第四季度执行，全部裁员规模约占该行全球9.3万名员工总数的5%。

Chief Financial Officer Anna Cross told reporters on Thursday that the targeted reduction of roughly 5,000 full-time employees is designed to support the bank's broader initiative to deliver over £1.1 billion in structural cost savings in 2027. Barclays has already cut 1,000 roles since the beginning of this year, leaving approximately 4,000 posts to be phased out by the end of December, representing roughly 5% of its 93,000 global workforce.

按业务与职能条线划分，约60%的裁减配额落在支持职能部门，包括精简技术开发人员队伍，旨在通过人工智能提升人员工作效率并推动组织扁平化。虽然本轮降本举措的主线针对英国本土零售银行业务，但巴克莱在印度设有多项支持英国本土业务的后台运营中心，预计相当大比例的岗位裁减将落在印度的运营据点，投资银行部门也受到了部分波及。

Across business divisions, approximately 60% of the planned reductions fall within support functions, which encompass developers, as management integrates AI tools to improve staff productivity and simplify operations. While the bank's multi-year cost-cutting programme focuses primarily on its UK retail banking franchise, several back-office administrative operations serving the UK are situated in India, where a significant share of the redundancies is expected to take effect, with the investment banking unit also sustaining staff cuts.

针对外界对裁员直接归因于人工智能的询问，集团首席执行官文卡塔克里希南解释，银行近年来对信息技术基础设施进行深度投资并大力简化运营流程，这些基础技术改进构成了迄今为止效率提升的主要动力。管理层将人工智能视为现代化架构建立后的延伸，主张必须先完成底层系统升级，才能真正发挥新工具的生产力效益。

Responding to inquiries regarding how many job cuts stem directly from artificial intelligence, Group Chief Executive CS Venkatakrishnan explained that deep capital spending on core technology and process simplification accounted for the bulk of recent operational gains. Management stressed that basic infrastructure upgrades remain the true foundation of the bank's efficiency drive, noting that algorithms and automated tools can deliver tangible gains only after underlying legacy systems undergo modernisation.

文卡塔克里希南明确表示，巴克莱打算在业务中规模化运用人工智能，但在整体技术演进中，底层基础设施建设才是基础，人工智能属于锦上添花。管理层评估指出，人工智能在当前业务协同中发挥重要作用，并预期未来将承担更大职责，随着现代化基础设施铺设就位，算法工具的应用将主要用于提升员工生产率并辅助系统变革。

Venkatakrishnan described the deployment of artificial intelligence as the icing on the cake rather than the cake itself, emphasising that modernised technical architecture must precede any large-scale automation benefits. While confirming that Barclays intends to employ artificial intelligence at scale, he noted that the technology already plays an important operational role and will likely assume an expanded function as automated tools make existing staff more productive across simplified support workflows.

在财务表现方面，巴克莱银行7月至9月的第三季度税前利润从去年同期的21亿英镑增长12%，达到23亿英镑，约合31亿美元。全行该季度总收入录得74亿英镑，略低于分析师预估的76.1亿英镑。英国零售银行业务的净利息收入增长6%至20亿英镑，而全行总净利息收入基本维持在39.1亿英镑不变。

Barclays reported that its pre-tax profit for the July-to-September third quarter increased by 12% to £2.3 billion ($3.1 billion), up from £2.1 billion during the same period last year. Group total income reached £7.4 billion, coming in below analysts' estimates of £7.61 billion. While net interest income at its UK retail banking arm expanded 6% to £2 billion, the lender's group net interest income remained broadly unchanged at £3.91 billion.

资本与盈利能力指标显示，巴克莱衡量偿债能力的普通股一级资本（CET1）比率从第二季度末的14.3%微降至14.2%，有形股本回报率（RoTE）则从16.1%降至11.7%。伴随业绩披露，首席执行官文卡塔克里希南宣布将通过新增5亿英镑股票回购向投资者分配更多现金，使该行自1月以来通过股息与股票回购返还股东的总额达到28亿英镑。受收入不及预期等因素影响，该行股价在伦敦早盘交易初期下跌近1%。

On balance sheet metrics, the bank's Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, a key measure of financial solvency, edged down to 14.2% from 14.3% at the end of the second quarter, while return on tangible equity fell to 11.7% from 16.1%. Alongside the earnings release, Chief Executive CS Venkatakrishnan announced plans to return additional capital to investors through a £500 million share buyback, lifting total shareholder distributions through repurchases and dividends since January to £2.8 billion. In London morning trade following the announcement, Barclays shares slipped nearly 1%.

巴克莱的裁员举措符合英国银行业加速推进自动化的整体格局。数月前，渣打银行宣布计划在未来四年内裁减逾7,000个工作岗位，以期到2030年将其后台运营岗位缩减约15%。金融分析机构指出，银行多年来在技术领域投入巨资，目前已逐步进入技术投资直接转化为人力需求下降的阶段。AJ Bell投资总监罗斯·莫尔德表示，巴克莱正通过人工智能杠杆削减相当比例的员工，但其财务业绩表现并未达到市场预期。

The restructuring at Barclays aligns with a wider acceleration of automation across the UK financial sector. Months earlier, rival lender Standard Chartered announced plans to eliminate more than 7,000 positions over four years as it expands AI adoption, aiming to cut roughly 15% of its back-office workforce by 2030. Market analysts observed that years of heavy technology spending across the industry are reaching a stage where capital outlays translate into fewer required personnel. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould commented that Barclays reached for the AI lever to cut a sizeable portion of its staff, though its financial earnings failed to match market expectations.

与此同时，银行业在自动化减员之际获得的高额盈利引发了政策层面的审视。随着英国财政大臣约翰·希利准备在10月28日的预算案中公布对银行的加税举措，以配合安迪·伯纳姆政府筹措生活成本援助资金，工会组织对银行利润提出了强烈批评。英国工会大会秘书长保罗·诺瓦克表示，英国四大银行自2021年以来合计实现2,000亿英镑利润，这些超额收益伴随着数百万家庭的抵押贷款还贷压力，银行理应在能源账单危机期间承担更多税收责任。

The combination of workforce reductions and elevated banking returns intensified debate over fiscal policy. As Chancellor John Healey prepares to announce a bank tax increase in the October 28 budget to help Andy Burnham's government fund cost-of-living programmes, labour groups sharpened their scrutiny of sector earnings. Trades Union Congress General Secretary Paul Nowak stated that Britain's big four banks generated £200 billion in combined profit since 2021, arguing that these windfall returns were accompanied by rising mortgage costs for millions of households and that lenders should contribute more tax revenue during the household budget squeeze.