Tuesday twenty fifth February, 2025 05:02 PM|
Singapore’s largest financial institution, DBS, says it expects to chop about 4,000 roles over the following three years as artificial intelligence (AI) takes on extra work at present finished by people.
The transfer will have an effect on non permanent and contract employees, a financial institution spokesperson mentioned, with the discount within the workforce coming from “natural attrition” as initiatives are accomplished.
Permanent employees should not affected by the cuts. The financial institution’s outgoing chief govt Piyush Gupta additionally mentioned it anticipated to create round 1,000 new AI-related jobs.
It makes DBS one of many first main banks to supply particulars on how AI will have an effect on its operations.
The firm didn’t say what number of jobs can be lower in Singapore.
“Over the next three years, we envisage that AI could reduce the need to renew about 4,000 temporary/contract staff across our 19 markets working on specific projects,” the DBS spokesperson mentioned.
“As such, we expect the reduction in workforce will come from natural attrition as these temporary and contract roles are completed over the next few years.”
DBS at present has between 8,000 and 9,000 non permanent and contract employees. The financial institution employs a complete of round 41,000 individuals.
Last yr, Mr Gupta mentioned DBS had been engaged on AI for over a decade.
“We today deploy over 800 AI models across 350 use cases, and expect the measured economic impact of these to exceed S$1bn ($745m; £592m) in 2025,” he added.
Mr Gupta is about to go away the agency on the finish of March. Current deputy chief govt Tan Su Shan will exchange him.
The ongoing proliferation of AI know-how has put its advantages and dangers beneath the highlight, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saying in 2024 that it’s set to have an effect on practically 40% of all jobs worldwide.
The IMF’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva mentioned that “in most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality”.
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, informed the BBC final yr that AI is not going to be a “mass destroyer of jobs” and human employees will study to work with new applied sciences.
Mr Bailey mentioned that whereas there are dangers with AI, “there is great potential with it”.