Amid AI push, DBS Group to cut 4,000 contract and temporary jobs in next 3 years
A logo of DBS is pictured outside an office in Singapore. (File photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su)
MUMBAI: DBS Group plans to cut 4,000 of its contract and temporary staff workforce over the next three years as it expects artificial intelligence (AI) to increasingly take on roles carried out by humans, Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta said on Monday (Feb 24).
"My current projection in the next three years, we'll shrink our workforce by about 4,000 or 10 per cent," Gupta said at an industry conference in Mumbai, adding that permanent staff will not be affected.
He said, however, that 1,000 new positions will be added in AI.
"In my 15 years of being a CEO, for the first time, I'm struggling to create jobs. 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," Gupta added.
DBS told CNA on Tuesday that AI "could reduce the need to renew" about 4,000 temporary or contract staff members who are working on specific projects across its 19 markets.
"As such, we expect the reduction in workforce will come from natural attrition as these temporary and contract roles are completed over the next few years," said a DBS spokesperson.
"Our permanent staff across all our markets are not impacted."
DBS currently has about 8,000 to 9,000 contract and temporary staff members, Gupta told Bloomberg.
He is set to be succeeded by Tan Su Shan on Mar 28 to lead Southeast Asia's biggest bank.
The spokesperson said the bank has identified about 13,000 employees for upskilling or reskilling, with more than 10,000 having started the process.
