European banks plan to cut 200,000 jobs as artificial intelligence takes over

Europe’s banking sector is about to learn a hard lesson about efficiency. According to new Morgan Stanley analysis I mentioned According to the Financial Times, more than 200,000 European banking jobs could disappear by 2030 as lenders turn to artificial intelligence and close physical branches. This represents approximately 10% of the workforce at 35 major banks.

The bloodshed will be hit hard in back-office operations, risk management, and compliance, the unattractive guts of banking, where algorithms are thought to be able to tear apart spreadsheets faster and more effectively than humans. Banks are salivating over the expected 30% efficiency gains, according to a Morgan Stanley report.

Its downsizing is not limited to Europe. Goldman Sachs had warned US employees in October of job cuts and a hiring freeze until the end of 2025 as part of an artificial intelligence campaign dubbed “OneGS 3.0” targeting everything from customer onboarding to regulatory reporting.

Some organizations are already swinging the axe. Dutch lender ABN Amro plans to cut a fifth of its staff by 2028, while Société Générale’s chief executive has declared that “nothing is sacred”. However, some European bank leaders are urging caution, with one JPMorgan Chase executive telling the Financial Times that if junior bankers never learn the basics, it could come back to haunt the industry.