AI-Driven Changes Lead to Workforce Reduction at Major Asian Bank

Over the next three years, DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, has announced plans to reduce the number of employees by approximately 4,000 by way of a significant shift toward automation. A key reason for this decision was the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), which will gradually replace human employees in performing functions previously performed by humans. 

Essentially, these job reductions will occur through natural attrition as projects conclude, affecting primarily temporary and contract workers. However, the bank has confirmed that this will not have any adverse effects on permanent employees. A spokesperson for DBS stated that artificial intelligence-driven advances could reduce the need for temporary and contract positions to be renewed, thereby resulting in a gradual decrease in the number of employees as project-based roles are completed. 

According to the bank’s website, the bank employs approximately 8,000-9,000 temporary and contract workers and has a total workforce of around 41,000 workers. Former CEO Piyush Gupta has highlighted the bank’s longstanding investment in artificial intelligence, noting that DBS has been leveraging artificial intelligence technology for over a decade.

According to him, DBS has employed over 800 artificial intelligence models in 350 applications in the bank, with the expected economic impact surpassing S$1 billion by 2025 (US$745 million; £592 million).