DBS Plans 4,000 Job Cuts as AI Takes Over Key Tasks
DBS Group plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 4,000 temporary and contract positions over the next three years as artificial intelligence increasingly assumes work traditionally performed by human staff.
Speaking at an industry conference on Monday 24 February, the bank's outgoing CEO Piyush Gupta stated: "This year, my current projection is that in the next three years, we'll shrink our workforce by about 4,000 or 10%."
Gupta, who is scheduled to depart DBS at the end of March 2025, noted that the bank anticipates creating roughly 1,000 new AI-related positions.
Currently, DBS employs between 8,000 and 9,000 temporary and contract workers, with a total workforce exceeding 40,000. According to a bank spokesperson, the workforce reduction will occur through "natural attrition" following completed projects. Permanent staff positions will remain unaffected.
AI "Different" from Previous Technology Adoptions
During his address at the Indian IT industry lobby group Nasscom event, Gupta attributed these projections to AI's growth, emphasising: "AI is very powerful. It can self-create and also mimic."
He highlighted how AI differs from technologies adopted previously, pointing out that DBS has not implemented any job cuts over the past decade.
Gupta is among the first banking leaders to outline potential job losses or changes resulting from AI adoption. As reported by Reuters, he admitted: "In my 15 years of being a CEO, for the first time, I'm struggling to create jobs.
"So far, I've always had a line of sight to what jobs I can create. This time I'm struggling to say how I will repurpose people to create jobs."
DBS's AI and Machine Learning Journey
DBS first ventured into AI experimentation in 2012, with efforts accelerating in recent years. These include applying generative AI solutions to customer outreach, credit underwriting and hiring processes.
The company's ambition to become an AI-powered bank is supported by its robust data and AI foundation, combined with agile working methods. This approach has enabled the deployment of AI at considerable scale and speed.
In 2018, recognising the competitive advantage of industrialised AI, DBS began a comprehensive and "aggressive" transformation to build a robust data platform.
This initiative involved assembling 700 data professionals to efficiently deliver impactful business outcomes at scale, promoting responsible data usage and establishing a single source of truth to power all analytics and AI solutions.
These foundations produced significant results. The bank developed over 350 AI use cases and delivered more than 800 AI models. It also reduced the time-to-value from AI and machine learning from 18 months to two-to-three months.
Building on this foundation, DBS has rapidly identified and deployed generative AI use cases to unlock new opportunities and enhance customer service. Currently, the bank has over 20 generative AI use cases under implementation, with an estimated 90% of employees having access to AI tools at work.
In a 2022 DBS blog post, Gupta remarked that the bank's AI utilisation was scoring just two or three on a scale of 10, highlighting the technology's untapped potential for the bank's operations.
He added that whilst digitalisation was considered "table stakes" at most banks at that time, DBS's AI and machine learning capabilities had already placed it significantly ahead of competitors.
Tan Shu Shan is set to succeed Gupta on 28 March 2025.
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