HSBC Holdings Plc is planning sweeping job cuts across its UK wealth management business as part of a broader push to use artificial intelligence to serve affluent clients more efficiently, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The bank plans to eliminate around half of management and specialist positions across its UK wealth division, while reducing its ranks of financial advisers by nearly 70 percent, according to the report, which cited an unnamed source. HSBC is currently in a consultation process over the proposed restructuring, one person told the FT. Employees affected by the cuts are expected to leave by the end of the month, the newspaper said.

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“HSBC UK is a long-established, leading UK wealth manager and premium banking provider,” the bank’s spokesperson told FT. “We’re continuing to evolve to deliver more digitally enabled products and journeys to support our best-in-class wealth service and meet the changing needs of our customers.”

The proposed cuts follow a broader cost-cutting and simplification drive spearheaded by HSBC Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery since he took the helm in September 2024. Elhedery has been a vocal advocate of using AI to boost productivity, saying in a Bloomberg TV interview in August that he would be “extremely happy“ if HSBC employees could become more productive through the use of AI tools. He also said that he personally monitors AI-related spending, including token costs and software licensing fees.

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The growing use of AI has become a source of anxiety for bank employees across the industry. In May, Standard Chartered Plc Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters warned that artificial intelligence would eliminate thousands of jobs as the lender unveiled plans to cut more than 15 percent of its support workforce by 2030 through greater automation and AI-driven efficiencies.