American Express cuts 5% of workforce to prepare for AI

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 16:15 · Archive

American Express is eliminating 5% of its global workforce and taking a $336 million restructuring charge as it prepares to automate processes with artificial intelligence.

American Express is eliminating 5% of its global workforce as the credit card company prepares for artificial intelligence to automate more of its internal processes. The company is taking a $336 million restructuring charge in the third quarter, CEO Stephen Squeri announced Friday on the company's earnings call. With nearly 77,000 employees at the end of 2025, the cut will affect thousands of workers.

Squeri said the restructuring was needed to improve efficiency and help the company 'accelerate innovation and win over the next few years' by becoming 'a more agile and efficient organization'. Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec explained to CNBC that the company planned to 'reduce layers and increase spans of controls, so that we can automate and take advantage of AI in the coming quarters and the coming years'. He stressed that the company would not 'automate processes that are not optimally structured' first.

Squeri emphasized that while American Express will use AI to personalize customer experiences and offers, the company will not 'let assistants run rogue through our system'. The move reflects a broader trend in financial services: Barclays announced similar cuts of 5,000 jobs, also roughly 5% of its staff, as part of a tech-driven cost initiative.

How it is being reported

• American Express to slash 5% of workforce in latest AI-driven layoffsThe company on Friday announced a $336 million restructuring charge as part of the layoffs, which will impact thousands of the firm’s roughly 77,000 workers.New York Post · 23 Oct, 19:07
• American Express is cutting 5% of its workforce to 'prepare for AI'Amex, which reported third-quarter results earlier Friday, is taking a $336 million restructuring charge in the quarter, CEO Stephen Squeri said Friday.CNBC · 23 Oct, 15:13

In this story: American Express · Stephen Squeri · Christophe Le Caillec · Barclays

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem