Bill Winters, the CEO of Standard Chartered, on Wednesday, addressed the bank's staff to mitigate the fallout from his recent comments on the potential replacement of human workers by artificial intelligence. In a memo to his staff, Winters admitted that his comment may have been unsettling for many.
‘Unsettling’
“Many of you will have seen media coverage following the Investor Event in Hong Kong, particularly the reporting around automation, AI, and workforce changes. I know this may be unsettling when reduced to simple headlines or a quote out of context,” Winters wrote in a memo, according to Bloomberg News.
What Bill Winters said
Winters, who has been the Group CEO of Standard Chartered PLC since 2015, made the comments on Tuesday while speaking about the planned reduction of 15% of its corporate function roles, which is around 7,000 jobs, by 2030.
“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, adding that affected employees would receive “good clear notice” ahead of time.
However, Winters’ choice of words did not go down well with many on social media. Even former Singapore President Halimah Yacob disagreed with Winters, calling it “disturbing” to describe workers in such terms.
Winters' memo to employees
As the backlash grew, Winters, in the memo, told employees that the bank was committed to transitioning its workforce.
“We have been open that our workforce will evolve. Some roles will reduce in number, some will change, and new opportunities will emerge,” he wrote.
“We will continue to invest in technology, platforms, and automation to improve how we operate, serve clients and position the Bank for long-term growth,” Winters said. “I want to be absolutely clear that the future of Standard Chartered depends on the talent, judgement, relationships, and commitment of you, our colleagues.”
Standard Chartered’s announcement on Tuesday was the first of its kind by a major global bank, where a specific headcount reduction was directly attributed to artificial intelligence deployment.
What HSBC CEO said about AI
While Standard Chartered was the first, it is unlikely to be the only one, as HSBC has also hinted at moving in the same direction.
HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery said Wednesday that AI would destroy and create certain jobs in the financial industry, and the bank was retraining its workforce to meet the challenge.
Elhedery told an HSBC investor day event that staff needed to embrace AI-driven change rather than resist it, and work with the bank to navigate the new technology.
"We all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs," Elhedery said.
"But my initial mission is I need 200,000 colleagues with us on this journey. However many will be left at the end of the journey isn't the problem. The problem is how can we make sure that those 200,000 colleagues have been given all the capabilities, the training, the tools to make themselves future ready, be more productive versions of themselves."
Elhedery said HSBC staff needed to ensure they were "not fighting us, not disenfranchised, not anxious, overwhelmed, and resisting the change."
