European banks plan to cut 200,000 jobs as AI takes hold

European banks are about to learn a hard lesson in efficiency. According to a new analysis by Morgan Stanley report by the Financial Times, more than 200,000 banking jobs in Europe could be lost by 2030 as lenders lean towards AI and close physical branches. That’s about 10% of the workforce at the 35 largest banks.

The bleeding will get worse in back-office tasks, risk management, and compliance, the unpleasant guts of banking where algorithms are believed to be able to shred pages faster and more efficiently than humans. Banks are increasing due to efficiency by 30%, according to a report by Morgan Stanley.

The reduction is not limited to Europe. Goldman Sachs warned US workers in October of possible job cuts and layoffs by the end of 2025 as part of an AI push called “OneGS 3.0” that looks at everything from customer onboarding to regulatory reporting.

Some organizations are already dropping the ax. Dutch lender ABN Amro plans to cut a fifth of its workforce by 2028, with the CEO of Société Générale saying “nothing is sacred.” However, some European banking leaders are urging caution, with a JPMorgan Chase exec telling the FT that if smaller banks don’t learn the basics, they could come back to haunt the industry.