AI effect: Banking giant DBS to lay off 10% workforce
What's the story
DBS Group, a leading global banking corporation, wants to cut its workforce by 10% or 4,000 employees over the next three years.
The move comes as the company is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations.
The announcement was made by DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta at an event hosted by Nasscom, India's IT industry lobby group.
Workforce reduction
AI's impact on DBS workforce
Gupta said, "This year, my current projection is that in the next three years, we are going to shrink our workforce by 4,000 or 10%."
He credited the increasing role of AI in the banking industry for the expected cut.
Gupta stressed that AI is a one-of-a-kind technology with the ability to self-create and replicate tasks that were previously performed by humans.
Past challenges
DBS's past experiences with job cuts and AI
Gupta emphasized that this is the first time in his more than 15-year career at DBS, where he has the challenge of creating new jobs because of technology.
He remembered a similar case in 2016-17 when the bank's digital transformation posed a threat to 1,600 employees.
However, almost all of them were successfully repurposed after discussions with unions and other representatives.
AI implementation
Cautious approach to AI in customer outreach
Despite the challenges, DBS has been slowly integrating AI into its operations for the last two years.
The bank has leveraged AI in multiple areas, including customer outreach, credit underwriting, and hiring processes.
However, Gupta said they have been cautious about fully depending on AI for customer outreach due to problems like hallucinations.