AI is reshaping banking—but not causing a jobs wipeout

My Fortune colleague Emma Burleigh takes a deep dive into this topic in her new report, “Is AI really killing finance and banking jobs? Experts say Wall Street’s layoffs may be more hype than takeover—for now.” For example, despite Wall Street’s headline-grabbing layoffs this year, overall headcount across banking and finance has remained relatively stable.

“I think the general [headcount] trend in the banking industry over the last decade is stable to slightly declining,” Pim Hilbers, a managing director working with banking and talent at BCG, told Burleigh. “I don’t see that changing anytime soon. That doesn’t mean that everybody just stays in their job for life. I think we see a lot more mobility than we saw in the past.”

Burleigh writes about the banking sector: “So far, America’s largest financial institutions haven’t been making deep workforce cuts. Bank of America employed just four fewer workers at the end of the third quarter this year, compared to 2024. In that same time period, JPMorgan saw its headcount climb by 2,000 employees, and more than a third of the new staffers were brought onto corporate operations. Even Goldman Sachs, which implemented multiple rounds of layoffs this year, employed 48,300 this September—around 1,800 staffers higher than the year before.

“Banks aren’t ready to shed staffers just yet; experts tell Fortune they’re pulling back on headcount growth for as long as possible, leaning on AI efficiency gains until they’re forced to add more humans to payroll. They predict this sluggish period of hiring could last for years.” Although AI isn’t replacing bankers just yet, there could be trouble on the horizon for marketers and accountants. You can read the complete report here. 

Regarding banking, AI is also reshaping competitive advantage, a recent BCG report finds. Predictive, generative, and agentic AI are redefining the foundations of scale, efficiency, and customer experience. Banks must anchor AI strategy in business strategy. And “winning institutions” focus on where AI will deliver real returns, not just on deploying more technology, according to BCG.

Sheryl [email protected]

Leaderboard

Aaron Barfoot was appointed CFO of DISCO (NYSE: LAW), a litigation technology provider, effective Jan. 12. Barfoot brings more than two decades of finance and corporate development experience. Most recently, he was CFO at Socure, a provider of AI-powered digital identity verification and fraud prevention solutions, and has also held CFO and other senior finance roles at Forter, Anaconda, ClearDATA and Rackspace.

Dana Litman was appointed EVP and CFO of Sonata Bank. Litman most recently served as interim CFO at Sonata Bank, guiding the bank through a period of reorganization. He has more than 30 years of financial services experience.  Litman was CFO at Community Bankshares, Inc., where he led initiatives in liquidity management, capital planning and sponsor banking. Before that, he spent nearly 20 years at Quantum National Bank in the Atlanta area, where he served as EVP, CFO and chief risk officer. 

Big Deal

“Future-Ready Finance: Technology, Productivity, and Skills Survey,” released by AICPA and CIMA, finds a gap between finance professionals’ expectations of AI’s impact and their organizations’ readiness to adopt it.

One of the key findings is that 88% of respondents believe AI will be the most transformative technology trend in accounting and finance over the next 12–24 months. However, just 8% feel their organization is very well prepared to manage the AI trend, while 21% feel their organization is well prepared, according to the report.

In addition, more than half (56%) of respondents identified generative AI as the most prominent skills gap. This reflects a broader shift in the skills landscape, with IT and technological capabilities moving from a secondary concern (20% in 2021) to the top priority today (46%).

The findings are based on a survey of 1,446 global senior finance and accounting leaders and managers. 

“AI is here and reshaping finance, creating opportunities for finance professionals to build future-ready skills,” Tom Hood, EVP of business growth and engagement at AICPA & CIMA, said in a statement. “Organizations that invest in talent and technology today can turn disruption into a competitive advantage and be best positioned to lead the way tomorrow.”

Going deeper

“The 5 AI tensions leaders need to navigate” is an interesting article in Harvard Business Review. The introduction of AI into the workplace inherently creates tension. Which tensions are most common in workplaces—and how are they actually playing out? The researchers examine this topic based on insights collected from over 100 leaders. 

Overheard

“While many companies have struggled to find early success, our AI journey over a number of years at Sam’s Club has proven to be more successful. It has changed how we operate our business, how our associates work, and how our members shop with us.”

—Chris Nicholas, president and chief executive officer of Sam’s Club, writes in a Fortune opinion piece titled, “I’m the Sam’s Club CEO and I’ve got an AI leadership reality check: let purpose, not promise, guide investment.”