DBS to cut 4,000 jobs over the next three years, CEO Piyush Gupta says
Singapore’s DBS Bank is looking to cut 4,000 contract and temporary jobs over the next three years.
This will happen as it adopts artificial intelligence (AI) to take on these roles, DBS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Piyush Gupta was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Source: DBS
DBS to cut 10% of its jobs: CEO
Mr Gupta, who was speaking at an industry conference in Mumbai, expects AI to increasingly fill out the roles now occupied by humans.
Thus, he projected that DBS would decrease its workforce by about 10%, or 4,000.
Source: Piyush Gupta on LinkedIn
He said he was “struggling to create jobs” for the first time in his 15 years of being a CEO, adding:
So far, I’ve always had a line of sight to what jobs I can create. This time I’m struggling to say how will I repurpose people to create jobs.
He is one of the first heads of a major bank to mention possible job losses due to AI, according to Reuters.
DBS to cut contract & temp jobs only: CEO
However, the 4,000 positions cut would be contract and temp jobs, said Mr Gupta in a reply to Bloomberg.
DBS has about 8,000 to 9,000 such workers now.
Permanent staff won’t be affected, he added.
A DBS spokesperson told MS News that the workforce reduction will come from “natural attrition” as these temporary and contract roles are completed over the next few years.
The spokesman said the company will continue to invest in its employees to ensure they are “future ready”.
“We have identified around 13,000 staff for upskilling or reskilling and to date, over 10,000 have commenced their respective learning roadmaps, including on skills such as AI and data.”
DBS CEO will step down on 28 March
Mr Gupta himself will be leaving his job when he steps down on 28 March.
He will be taken over by Ms Tan Su Shan, 56, who is now serving as deputy CEO.
DBS will soon have a female CEO, here’s all there is to know about Tan Su Shan
In June last year, Mr Gupta was appointed Chairman of Mandai Park Holdings, a role he currently holds concurrently with DBS CEO.
Also read: DBS tops LinkedIn list for best S’pore workplace to grow in career
DBS tops LinkedIn list for best S’pore workplace to grow in career
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Featured image adapted from Piyush Gupta on LinkedIn and Google Maps.
