NatWest Cuts 1,000 Jobs in Push to Become AI-Driven Bank
NatWest Group cut about 1,000 full-time jobs in the three months to September, as the UK bank pressed ahead with plans to simplify operations and
NatWest Group cut about 1,000 full-time jobs in the three months to September, as the UK bank pressed ahead with plans to simplify operations and become more technology-driven.
The reduction brings job losses this year to about 1,400, although the group’s overall workforce has grown following its acquisition of wealth manager Evelyn Partners, which added around 2,200 employees. NatWest has not identified which roles or operations were affected.
Efficiency drive lifts savings
NatWest said its push to streamline the business had generated about £420 million in cost savings so far this year. The bank has linked its efficiency drive to investment in technology, including artificial intelligence.
The cuts came as quarterly earnings rose. NatWest recorded operating pre-tax profit of £2.2 billion for the three months to September, up about 2% from the same period a year earlier. Net interest income — the difference between what banks earn on loans and pay on deposits — increased nearly 9% to around £3.6 billion.
That income growth has also been reported by high street rivals Lloyds and Barclays while interest rates have remained high. NatWest’s results show the contrast facing the sector: banks are bringing in more from lending while seeking to reduce operating costs and reshape their workforces.
Workforce changing shape
Chief Executive Paul Thwaite said the “underlying shape of the workforce is changing quite a bit.” The remark comes as the bank reduces staff in pursuit of a simpler, more technology-driven business, while the Evelyn Partners deal adds a substantial number of employees to the group.
The figures therefore reflect both a sharp cut in roles during the quarter and a wider change in the composition of NatWest’s workforce. The bank has not set out which employees may be affected next or described support for workers whose jobs are removed. Thwaite’s description of the shift was blunt: “The underlying shape of the workforce is changing quite a bit.”
