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SINGAPORE: Standard Chartered should "proactively support any workers who may be affected in advance and continue investing in training and upskilling their employees instead" amid its job cuts driven by artificial intelligence, an industry union said on Friday (May 22).
This is because "AI should complement employees", Banking and Financial Services Union (BFSU) executive secretary Catherine Cho said in response to CNA's queries.
London-headquartered StanChart announced on May 19 that it would cut 15 per cent of its corporate function roles by 2030 as it boosts automation and AI adoption while targeting growth.
According to a Reuters calculation, this would result in more than 7,000 redundancies out of StanChart's more than 52,000 employees in such roles.
StanChart has a total global staff of nearly 82,000. The lender did not directly respond to queries on the number of employees in Singapore who will be affected.
The bank drew flak for CEO Bill Winters' comments that it will be "replacing in some cases lower-value human capital" with technology, with some like former Singapore President Halimah Yacob criticising Mr Winters' remarks as "demeaning".
In another statement following its CEO's comments, the bank said that "some roles will reduce, others will grow, and new ones will emerge" as its workforce evolves.
"And where roles fall away in line with evolving technology, capabilities and client needs, we will provide advance notice and engage as early as we can, including conversations around redeployment opportunities," said a spokesperson.
Following the outcry, StanChart told CNA on Friday that it "has committed to supporting its employees in upskilling, reskilling, and redeployment, as it has done so in the past, and to being a responsible employer in Singapore".
HISTORY OF UNION INVOLVEMENT
StanChart's Singapore entity is unionised under the BFSU, which is an affiliated union of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).
The bank was also one of the first seven union branches of BFSU's sister union, the Singapore Bank Employees' Union (SBEU), when it was founded in 1954.
StanChart and FairPrice Group, which is under NTUC Enterprise, jointly established Trust Bank in 2022 after the government issued new banking licences in 2019.
CNA has reached out to NTUC Enterprise and Trust on whether StanChart's staff cuts affect Trust's workforce.
BFSU's Ms Cho said the union was monitoring the situation in Singapore closely, as she noted StanChart's "close working relationships" with BFSU over the years.
"We recognise that AI will inevitably change the nature of work in (the) banking and financial sector. Some roles will evolve, while others may be restructured," she said.
"The pace and management of such transition matter to our workers. Employers have a responsibility to invest in reskilling and redeployment as first resort, rather than letting workers go.
"Where roles are eventually displaced by AI, workers must be given every fair opportunity to transition, with adequate notice, support and pathways forward. BFSU will stand by its members every step of the way."
Ms Cho said that in view of recent trends in global restructuring, BFSU has proactively worked with NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore to support StanChart employees.
This includes providing access to career coaches, job fairs and NTUC's Union Training Assistance Programme to offset training costs for skills upgrading.
"BFSU will provide further assistance and resources to affected members and employees where needed, including connecting them to the labour movement's network such as NTUC's e2i," she added.
She also pointed to the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme for affected workers.
The scheme provides up to S$6,000 (US$4,700) in unemployment payouts over six months for workers who have lost their jobs involuntarily.
Eligible workers must have been earning under S$5,000 in gross monthly income and be Singaporeans or permanent residents, among other criteria.
