NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence is reshaping how banks work, but it has not yet triggered widespread job losses across the financial industry, despite growing concern among employees and investors, according to reporting by Fortune.
In a letter to shareholders last year, Fortune noted that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that artificial intelligence “may reduce certain job categories or roles,” likening its long-term impact to transformative technologies such as the printing press and the internet. The technology has drawn scrutiny as major banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, announced layoffs in 2025.
But experts told Fortune that AI-driven job cuts in banking remain limited so far. Instead, they say recent workforce reductions largely reflect pandemic-era overhiring and ongoing economic uncertainty, rather than automation replacing large numbers of employees.
The ‘Scapegoat’
“AI is often a scapegoat,” Robert Seamans, director of New York University Stern’s Center for the Future of Management, told Fortune, adding that it is easier for companies to blame technology than slower demand, trade uncertainty or past hiring decisions.
Banks have invested heavily in AI tools that can complete junior-level analytical tasks in seconds, the report noted. A Citigroup report found that 54% of financial-sector jobs have a high potential for automation — more than any other industry. Still, headcounts at major institutions have remained relatively stable.
At the end of the third quarter, Bank of America employed just four fewer workers than a year earlier. JPMorgan’s workforce grew by about 2,000 employees, while Goldman Sachs employed roughly 1,800 more workers in September than it did the year before, despite multiple rounds of layoffs, according to Fortune.
Slower Hiring
Rather than shedding workers, banks are slowing hiring and relying on AI-driven productivity gains, experts told Fortune, which added that that pause could last for years.
“Many banks are saying they want the productivity so they don’t have to hire the next 100 people,” Mike Abbott, banking and capital markets industry lead at Accenture, told Fortune.
The effects are already being felt among new graduates. While job offer rates remain high at elite MBA programs, placements have declined since 2021, according to Bloomberg data cited by Fortune. Experts say top schools benefit from location and resources not available to most programs.
Not All Risk is Equal
Not all finance roles face equal risk. Analysts and consultants appear more insulated, experts said, because their work demands precision and judgment that AI cannot yet replicate. Accounting and marketing roles, however, are more vulnerable as AI becomes better at processing data and automating routine tasks, Fortune added.
