American Express to Cut Around 3,800 Jobs as AI Reshapes Banking: Strong Profits, Fewer Employees NEW YORK — American Express is preparing to eliminate approximately 5% of its global workforce as the financial services industry accelerates its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), automation and leaner operating models. The announcement comes as the credit card giant reports stronger quarterly profits, raises its annual earnings outlook and signals that technology will play a larger role in its future operations.
The company plans to remove approximately 3,800 positions from a global workforce of around 76,800 employees, based on its year-end 2025 headcount. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Squeri announced a $336 million restructuring charge during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Friday.
Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec said the restructuring would make American Express more agile and better prepared to take advantage of AI in the coming quarters and years.
The announcement highlights a growing contradiction in the modern economy: financial companies are generating substantial profits while reorganising their workforces to capture the productivity benefits of emerging technology.
The move also raises questions about the future of employment in banking, the kinds of jobs most vulnerable to automation and whether AI-driven efficiency will ultimately create new opportunities alongside the positions being eliminated.
American Express Announces 5% Workforce Reduction
American Express said its restructuring programme is designed to simplify the organisation, reduce management layers and accelerate decision-making.
The company will incur a $336 million restructuring charge associated with the programme. Management described the decision as part of a broader effort to improve operating efficiency and direct resources towards strategic priorities, including technology investment and customer services.
Le Caillec explained that businesses should not automate inefficient processes without first improving the way those processes operate.
“You don’t want to automate processes that are not optimally structured,” he said, according to CNBC’s reporting on the earnings call.
He added that the company was reducing organisational layers and expanding management responsibilities to make automation easier to implement.
The distinction matters because American Express has not described the entire workforce reduction as a direct replacement of employees by AI systems. Instead, management has connected the cuts to a combination of organisational restructuring, operational efficiency and preparation for increased automation.
Nevertheless, the company’s explicit reference to AI signals that technological change is becoming an increasingly important consideration in workforce planning.
For employees, the immediate consequence is a significant reduction in positions; for the company, the stated objective is a simpler structure capable of supporting future growth.
Strong Quarterly Profits Accompany the Job Cuts
The workforce announcement arrived alongside financial results that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for adjusted earnings.
American Express reported adjusted earnings of $4.68 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $4.48, according to LSEG data cited in market reporting.
Total revenue increased by approximately 9% year over year to around $20.06 billion, slightly below analysts’ forecast of $20.12 billion.
The company’s third-quarter net income rose to approximately $3.71 billion, while reported earnings per share reached $5.42. Those figures include the effects of certain one-time items, including proceeds associated with the sale of American Express’s stake in Global Business Travel Group.
The adjusted figures provide a different view of underlying performance because they exclude specified items, including the relevant transaction gain and restructuring effects.
American Express also raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to approximately $17.60–$17.90 per share, according to Reuters and Associated Press reporting. This should be distinguished from reported earnings, which can include significant one-off gains and expenses.
The results indicate that the restructuring is not simply being announced in response to a collapse in consumer demand. The company continues to benefit from customer spending, card fees and its position in the premium payments market.
However, revenue growth does not automatically guarantee that every business unit or role remains necessary. Large companies regularly reorganise their operations to change how work is performed, even when their overall businesses are expanding.
Why American Express Is Preparing for AI
Artificial intelligence has become a strategic priority for banks, payment networks and financial technology companies because it can assist with tasks that previously required substantial manual effort.
Potential applications include customer service, transaction monitoring, fraud detection, document processing, software development, internal research and personalised marketing.
For a company such as American Express, AI could help analyse customer preferences, identify unusual spending patterns, improve service response times and tailor offers to individual cardholders.
Squeri devoted a substantial portion of his prepared earnings-call remarks to the technology, particularly its potential to personalise customer experiences.
The company wants customers to be able to use AI-powered assistants and agents to interact with its services. Such systems could eventually help customers discover relevant benefits, understand spending patterns and manage certain financial activities.
However, financial institutions cannot introduce these technologies without considering security, privacy and regulatory obligations.
Squeri made that point clearly when discussing external AI agents.
“We’re not going to let assistants run rogue through our system,” he said.
He explained that American Express would allow agents to access its systems through approved application programming interface (API) or Model Context Protocol (MCP) channels.
These mechanisms can provide structured ways for software systems to communicate with company services. They can also support controls over which information an external application may access and which actions it is permitted to perform.
The company’s AI strategy therefore has two connected objectives: increase automation and productivity while maintaining control over access to sensitive financial systems.
The challenge will be ensuring that efficiency gains do not come at the expense of customer trust, data protection or reliable payment services.
Barclays Signals a Wider Banking Industry Shift
American Express is not alone in linking workforce changes to technology investment.
British banking group Barclays announced plans to cut approximately 5,000 jobs, representing around 5% of its workforce, by the end of 2026. The announcement came as the bank reported its third-quarter financial results and described efforts to reduce fixed costs through technology and operational improvements.
Reuters reported that roughly 1,000 of the planned reductions had already occurred during the first half of the year, with further cuts expected before year-end.
Barclays has linked the programme to investments in technology, including AI, that enable certain tasks to be completed with fewer employees. Many of the reductions are expected to affect operational and support functions.
The similarities between the two announcements suggest that financial institutions are examining how technology can change their staffing requirements.
Banks have historically employed large teams to manage documentation, compliance procedures, customer enquiries, software systems and back-office administration. Some of these activities can now be assisted by increasingly capable automated tools.
However, AI is not the only factor behind workforce reductions. Companies may also be responding to overlapping management structures, cost targets, business simplification and changing customer needs.
The broader trend is not simply that AI is replacing bank employees; it is that financial institutions are redesigning operations around a combination of technology, automation and fewer organisational layers.
What Does This Mean for Banking Jobs?
The American Express announcement illustrates the uncertainty facing employees whose responsibilities involve repetitive or highly structured processes.
Tasks that follow predictable rules are generally easier to automate than work requiring complex negotiation, accountability, nuanced judgment or extensive personal interaction.
Potentially exposed activities include routine document preparation, basic data processing, standard customer enquiries and certain administrative workflows.
But automation does not necessarily eliminate every job associated with these activities. In some cases, employees may use AI to complete work faster, allowing them to focus on exceptions, quality control or more complex customer needs.
Other roles may grow as institutions expand their investments in AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, data governance, model evaluation and technology integration.
The distribution of these gains remains uncertain. Newly created positions may require different qualifications or be located in different parts of an organisation, meaning displaced workers will not automatically move into them.
For employees, this creates pressure to develop skills that complement automation, including analytical reasoning, digital literacy, risk management, communication and the ability to supervise AI-assisted workflows.
For employers, the challenge is to balance productivity improvements with responsible workforce planning, employee support and the retention of expertise needed to maintain reliable services.
Why Did American Express Shares Fall?
Despite stronger adjusted earnings and an improved full-year outlook, American Express shares fell by approximately 3% in morning trading following the announcement.
The market response illustrates that strong earnings do not automatically lead to rising share prices. Investors also evaluate revenue performance, future costs, business growth, customer spending and the outlook for profitability.
Revenue came in slightly below the consensus forecast, while operating expenses remained an important consideration. The restructuring charge also reflects the immediate cost of reorganising the business, even if management expects the changes to support efficiency over time.
The company’s share-price movement should not be interpreted as proof that investors rejected its AI strategy. Short-term trading can reflect multiple factors, and a single session does not establish the long-term financial impact of restructuring.
The key question for investors will be whether American Express can translate organisational changes and technology spending into sustainable productivity gains without weakening customer service or its competitive position.
What Happens Next?
Several developments will determine whether the restructuring delivers the results management expects.
- Implementation of AI systems: The company will need to demonstrate that new tools can improve productivity while meeting security and regulatory requirements.
- Workforce transition: The scale, timing and distribution of job reductions will determine the immediate impact on employees and business operations.
- Customer experience: AI-powered services must offer practical benefits without introducing unreliable responses, privacy risks or unnecessary complexity.
- Financial performance: Investors will monitor revenue growth, operating expenses, customer spending and the extent to which efficiency improvements support profitability.
- Industry adoption: Further restructuring announcements from banks and payments companies may provide additional evidence of how rapidly AI is changing financial services.
The coming quarters should offer a clearer picture of how much of American Express’s anticipated efficiency improvement comes from AI itself and how much results from broader organisational changes.
AI Is Becoming a Workforce Strategy, Not Just a Technology Investment
American Express’s decision to eliminate approximately 3,800 positions while investing in AI reflects a broader transformation underway across the financial services industry.
The company is reporting stronger adjusted earnings, resilient customer spending and an improved full-year outlook. At the same time, it is restructuring its workforce to reduce organisational complexity and prepare for more extensive automation.
The announcement does not establish that AI will directly replace every employee whose position is eliminated. It does, however, demonstrate that the prospect of AI-driven productivity is influencing how major financial companies plan their workforces.
For employees, the shift creates uncertainty and increases the importance of adaptable skills. For customers, it could eventually bring more personalised services and faster processes, provided that companies maintain strong safeguards. For investors, the test will be whether the restructuring produces durable financial benefits.
The defining question is no longer whether AI will influence the banking industry, but how financial institutions will distribute its benefits, manage its risks and support workers through the transition.
American Express’s restructuring offers an early indication of how that transition may unfold: fewer organisational layers, greater investment in technology and an increasingly deliberate effort to redesign work around automation.
Sources and further reading
- Reuters — American Express raises 2026 profit forecast and plans workforce cuts
- Associated Press — American Express reports higher profits and announces workforce reductions
- American Express third-quarter 2026 earnings-call transcript
- Reuters reporting on Barclays’ planned workforce reductions
Editorial note: Figures reflect reporting available on October 23, 2026. Workforce estimates, earnings measures and management statements are distinguished where appropriate. AI-related productivity benefits remain prospective and should not be treated as guaranteed outcomes.
