British bank Standard Chartered (StanChart) as part of its plans to ‘invest ahead of long-term trends [automation, AI] to maintain strong growth, boost productivity, further improve the quality of earnings, and maximise its competitive advantages’ has announced plans to cut more than 7,000 corporate jobs globally in the next four years.

“We will continue to apply disciplined workforce planning, aided by a reduction in corporate function roles of 15% by 2030. We are scaling practical uses of automation, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to streamline processes, improve decision‑making and enhance both client service and internal efficiency,” the bank said in a statement.

The impacted will be from the pool of 52,000 people who work globally in corporate functions. The lender has a total global workforce of 82,000. 

Since the job cut is global, it will also led to staff reductions in India as well. The bank has a total employee base of more than 30,000 in India working in corporate functions and at its Global Business Service (GBS) division.   

Though it is not known about the number of job cuts in India, it is learnt the affected people will be re-skilled and re-deployed in due course. But there is no official confirmation.

In a statement Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive, StanChart said, “Our strategy is grounded in a simple belief: the world is becoming more connected, more complex and more cross-border. Clients need a bank that can help them navigate that environment with confidence – that is where Standard Chartered is distinctive.”

“Our trusted ability to combine network and product capabilities to solve challenging cross-border problems is difficult to replicate. We are investing in the capabilities that will compound our competitive advantages and drive sustainable growth and higher quality returns over time, with clear targets in place,” he said.

He said the bank having achieved its 2026 medium-term financial targets a year earlier than planned, it is now more focused, streamlined and efficient organisation, positioning it strongly for the next stage of growth and to deliver its strategy at greater scale and pace. 

“We will deliver 15% RoTE in 2028, a more than 3 percentage point uplift from 2025, and building to 18% in 2030. Produce a high-teens EPS CAGR and 5-7% income CAGR from 2025-2028. Generate a cost-to-income ratio of 57% in 2028, down from 63% in 2025, aided by positive income-to-cost jaws,” he said.

He said the bank will drive productivity improvements to raise income per employee by 20% by 2028, aided by a reduction in corporate-function roles of 15% by 2030.