American Express is cutting 5% of its workforce to 'prepare for AI'

Stephen Squeri, chairman and chief executive officer of American Express Co., speaks during an Economic Club of New York event in New York, US, on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAmerican Express is cutting thousands of employees as the leading credit card company prepares for artificial intelligence to take over more of its internal processes.Amex is eliminating 5% of its global workforce and taking a $336 million restructuring charge, CEO Stephen Squeri told analysts Friday on the company's third-quarter earnings call. The firm had almost 77,000 employees at the end of 2025. CFO Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC in an interview that the restructuring charge was to make American Express "leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI.""You don't want to automate processes that are not optimally structured," Le Caillec said. "So what we're doing here is to reduce layers and increase spans of controls, so that we can automate and take advantage of AI in the coming quarters and the coming years."The Amex announcement reflects a broader trend across financial services, where banks are working to replace repetitive roles with AI automation. On Thursday, ...