WEALTH June 21, 2026 0 Comments

NatWest CEO Drops Bombshell: AI Could Slash Banking Jobs—Is Your Career Next?

So, here we are—NatWest’s Paul Thwaite just added his voice to the increasingly loud chorus of banking execs saying AI is set to reshape their workforce. Now, Thwaite isn’t claiming to have a crystal ball on whether their army of 60,000 employees will shrink, but he’s dead certain the game will change—big time. The funny thing? The bank’s already stacking up talent in software and AI roles, proving this isn’t just talk. But here’s the kicker: when AI steps in to take over jobs we once thought untouchable, what does that mean for us humans? Will we be sidelined or upskilled? And how do these shifts ripple through an entire industry already buzzing about automation? It’s not just NatWest—Standard Chartered, HSBC, Goldman Sachs—they’re all feeling the heat. Some warn of job losses, others of new opportunities; the narrative’s anything but simple. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley’s looking at 200,000 European banking jobs on the chopping block in just five years. Wild times. Then, out of left field, OpenAI’s Sam Altman cools the hype, saying no, this won’t be a jobs apocalypse after all. So, what’s the real deal? Are we ready to ride this AI wave or just waiting for the next big crash? Buckle up; it’s gonna be one interesting decade. LEARN MORE.

Natwest boss Paul Thwaite is the latest banking chief to say artificial intelligence (AI) will take over some jobs in the sector, writes John-Paul Ford Rojas.

He said he did not know whether the lender’s 60,000-strong workforce would shrink over the next decade but said it “is definitely going to change”.

The bank already employs increasing numbers of people in software and AI-related roles.

And Thwaite told a business summit hosted by The Times: “In effect there will be roles that currently exist that absolutely to all intents and purposes will be delivered by AI.”

The comments follow warnings from other bank chiefs about the impact of technology, most infamously in the case of Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters.

Last month, he apologised for describing staff facing the axe as “lower value human capital”, as the bank announced 8,000 roles would be replaced with AI.

Meanwhile, HSBC chief executive Georges Elhedery has said AI “will destroy certain jobs and create new jobs”.

And John Waldron, chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs, has described its back-office jobs as “a human assembly line” that will “become more digitised”.

Natwest
Ai Jobs — “In effect there will be roles that currently exist that absolutely to all intents and purposes will be delivered by AI.”

Analysts at Morgan Stanley predict that more than 200,000 banking jobs across Europe will be under threat from AI in the next five years.

However, Sam Altman – boss of ChatGPT maker OpenAI – backtracked last month on his previous warnings about AI, saying he does not believe it will lead to a global “jobs apocalypse”.