DBS expects to shrink contract and temp jobs by 4,000 over next 3 years as AI replaces roles
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Reductions will come from natural attrition, DBS said, and permanent staff will not be affected.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – DBS Group Holdings expects to reduce its contract and temporary staff by around 4,000 over the next three years as artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly takes on roles carried out by humans, outgoing chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said.
“The reduction in workforce will come from natural attrition as temporary and contract roles roll off over the next few years,” a DBS spokesperson said in response to queries from The Straits Times, without giving details such as how many Singapore workers are affected and what roles they are in.
Mr Gupta was confirming a Press Trust of India news agency report which said that the bank will trim its workforce following further adoption of AI across its business.
DBS has 8,000 to 9,000 of such workers, according to Mr Gupta, who said permanent staff will not be affected.
DBS, based in Singapore, has a total headcount of around 41,000 staff. Ms Tan Su Shan, currently DBS deputy CEO, will succeed Mr Gupta on March 28.
Global banks will cut as many as 200,000 jobs in the next three to five years as AI encroaches on tasks currently carried out by humans, said a Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) report in January. Chief information and technology officers surveyed for BI indicated that on average they expect a net 3 per cent of their workforce to be cut, according to the report.
Still, many firms have stressed that the shift will result in roles being changed by technology, rather than replaced altogether.
Ms Teresa Heitsenrether, who oversees JPMorgan Chase’s AI efforts, said in November 2024 that the bank’s adoption of generative AI was so far augmenting jobs. BLOOMBERG
