Two announcements arrived this week from companies in entirely different industries. The messaging was very similar: things are going well, AI is working and that means fewer people.Cisco announced fewer than 4,000 layoffs alongside fiscal Q3 2026 results showing $15.8 billion in revenue, up 12% year over year. The stock jumped roughly 15% to 17% on the news. "While we are reducing roles in some areas, we are making clear, strategic investments — particularly in silicon, optics, security and in our employees' use of AI across the company," wrote Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins in a memo to employees.A few days later, British multinational bank Standard Chartered said it plans to cut more than 15% of its corporate function roles by 2030, about 7,800 positions, as the org expands AI and automation, while moving some workers into other roles.
Both Cisco and Standard Chartered referenced opportunities for affected workers to reposition or retrain. "We will provide support in finding new opportunities, whether internal or external, through Cisco's placement services — a program that has seen 75 percent of participants discover their next role," according to the memo from Robbins.
Transparent reasons for layoffs
In many cases, companies announcing AI investments are careful to frame the technology as additive. Many leaders say that AI will create new roles, boost productivity and free workers for higher-value work. Layoffs are largely attributed to market conditions, restructuring or strategic pivots but rarely to automation directly. However, messaging from Cisco and Standard Chartered is more deliberate about the reasons for cuts.
Cisco
"The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest," said Robbins. "I'm confident Cisco will be one of those winners. This means making hard decisions—about where we invest, how we're organized, and how our cost structure reflects the opportunity in front of us."
Standard Chartered
Reuters reported that layoffs at Standard Chartered are tied to automation and AI as some staff reskill, according to statements CEO Bill Winters during a press conference."It's not cost-cutting. It's replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we're putting in," Winters said, according to reports. "We are investing in the capabilities that will compound our competitive advantages and drive sustainable growth and higher quality returns over time, with clear targets in place."More layoffs to come?
A growing list of executives are now citing AI adoption explicitly as the driver of headcount reduction. While it hasn't manifested yet, another financial institution, HSBC, is reportedly weighing one of its biggest workforce reductions in years. Bloomberg reports that the bank could cut around 20,000 roles, or about 10% of its total staff, over the next three to five years as it leans more heavily on AI to streamline middle- and back-office functions.
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