HSBC chief executive Georges Elhedery told staff on Wednesday that artificial intelligence would eliminate some banking jobs while creating new roles, as lenders accelerate automation efforts to cut costs and reshape operations.

Reuters reported that Elhedery used an investor day in Hong Kong to urge HSBC’s more than 200,000 employees not to resist technological change as the bank expands the use of generative AI across customer onboarding, risk monitoring, contact centres and wealth management.

“We all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs,” Elhedery said, adding that his priority was ensuring staff had “the capabilities, the training, the tools to make themselves future ready”. He warned employees against becoming “disenfranchised, anxious, overwhelmed, and resisting the change”.

The comments came a day after Standard Chartered announced plans to cut 15 per cent of its corporate function roles by 2030, equivalent to more than 7,000 jobs, according to Reuters calculations. Chief executive Bill Winters said the bank aimed to replace “lower-value human capital” with technology and investment, while stressing that most affected roles were non-client-facing positions.

Reuters reported that banks have become more willing to discuss the employment effects of AI publicly as pressure grows to improve efficiency and defend margins. Japanese lender Mizuho said in March it planned to reduce up to 5,000 jobs over a decade, while internal documents seen by Reuters showed Goldman Sachs had explored job reductions and slower hiring linked to AI adoption.

HSBC has placed AI at the centre of a wider restructuring programme led by Elhedery since he became chief executive in September 2024. According to Disruption Banking, the lender is considering reducing as many as 20,000 roles over the next three to five years, largely in middle and back-office functions in Asia, although the plans remain at an early stage. The publication reported that HSBC appointed David Rice as its first chief AI officer in March to accelerate deployment of generative AI tools across the bank.

Morgan Stanley analysts said in research cited by Reuters that companies in banking, technology and professional services had cut roughly one in 20 jobs over the past year because of AI adoption, with offshore and entry-level workers most exposed. Fabian Braesemann of the Oxford Internet Institute told Reuters that banks should avoid removing too many employees too quickly because demand for skilled workers could return once AI productivity gains become clearer.

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