HSBC Holdings CEO Georges Elhedery said AI will remove some positions while also leading to the creation of others, as he called on staff to adjust to the change rather than push back against it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs,\u201d Elhedery said during an investor and analyst session in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
He said it was important to keep employees involved in the process, adding that staff should be \u201con the journey with us, not fighting us, not disenfranchised, not anxious, overwhelmed and resisting the change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remarks stood in contrast to comments from Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters.<\/p>\n
Speaking a day earlier, Winters gave a more direct view of automation\u2019s effect, saying the bank\u2019s AI drive would remove thousands of roles as technology takes over work now done by what he described as \u201clower-value human capital\u201d.<\/p>\n
Standard Chartered is planning to cut more than 15% of its roles by 2030<\/a> as it expands the use of AI across the business.<\/p>\n Elhedery said HSBC is offering workers training and coding support as it prepares for the disruption.<\/p>\n The lender is already using AI to speed up client onboarding and improve financial crime risk monitoring.<\/p>\n His comments came at the start of a two-day Asia seminar setting out the London-based bank\u2019s growth plans.<\/p>\n Elhedery has spent the opening months of the year working from Hong Kong, HSBC\u2019s biggest and most profitable market.<\/p>\n Even so, the move towards more automation suggests a smaller workforce over time.<\/p>\n Bloomberg reported in March that HSBC was considering significant job cuts<\/a> in the years ahead, with Elhedery looking to use AI to reduce headcount in the middle and back office.<\/p>\n Those changes could eventually affect about 20,000 roles, or roughly 10% of the bank\u2019s total workforce, a person familiar with the considerations said in March.<\/p>\n