Standard Chartered's CEO Bill Winters recently faced backlash for comments about artificial intelligence (AI) replacing what he termed 'lower-value human capital.' Earlier this month, Winters warned that the bank's push into AI would eliminate thousands of roles, replacing workers with technology. The remarks came after the British bank announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs, or 8% of its workforce.
Bank's AI-Driven Restructuring
The bank unveiled a plan to reduce over 15% of its support staff by 2030 through increased use of AI to streamline operations. At the end of last year, Standard Chartered employed about 52,000 people in such roles across India, China, Poland, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
'It's not cost cutting; it's replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we're putting in,' Winters said at a briefing in Hong Kong last week. He added that affected staff would receive 'good clear notice' ahead of time. 'We don't have job losses, but we do have job role reductions in favor of the machines, and that will accelerate as we go forward into AI,' he said.
CEO's Apology on LinkedIn
After his comments sparked outrage, Winters apologized in a LinkedIn post. Here is the complete text of his apology:
'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. For that I am sorry. I am therefore showing below a verbatim transcript of what I actually said, which I hope allows for a better understanding of the important point I was raising. I think the transcript makes it clear that I value our colleagues – all of them – most highly and that we are totally committed to helping them to cope with the accelerating pace of change in our industry.'
Winters then provided a transcript of his original remarks, emphasizing the bank's commitment to reskilling and supporting employees through the transition.
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