A banking executive acknowledged that his prior remarks about AI had upset coworkers and apologized for the impact of his word choice. He previously stated that AI can replace lower-value human capital with financial capital and investment capital. He also said employees would be given opportunities to reposition and reskill. In a later post, he confirmed that back-office corporate functions would be reduced by about 15% over the next four years and that the firm would move people from jobs vulnerable to automation into higher-value roles. The backlash reflects broader concerns about AI job displacement, layoffs, and reduced hiring by major employers, alongside estimates of large numbers of roles lost.
"“I have received a lot of support for the messages in my previous post but still get questions about my choice of words, which I know has caused upset to some colleagues,” Winters wrote. “For that I am sorry.”"
"“[AI] is replacing, in some cases, lower value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we're putting in.”"
"Winters doubled down on his AI comments in a LinkedIn post published last Friday, confirming that “back office” corporate function roles will be reduced by about 15% in the next four years-and that Standard Chartered is making an effort to move humans in “lower-value” jobs susceptible to automation into “higher-value” roles."
"Backlash to the CEO's comments comes as the conversation on AI job displacement heats up. Major employers, including Amazon, Meta, Accenture, and UPS have all tied sweeping layoffs and reduced hiring to AI-driven work efficiencies. Last year alone, around 55,000 roles were slashed in connection to the technology-and another 502,000 of jobs are expected to be lost for the same reason in 2026, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research."
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