Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters apologized for comments suggesting artificial intelligence would replace “lower-value” human workers, after the remarks triggered criticism from employees and scrutiny from regulators.
In a LinkedIn post, Winters acknowledged that his wording had caused upset among staff and said he was sorry for the reaction. However, he stopped short of retracting the broader message behind the bank’s restructuring strategy.
The controversy followed Standard Chartered’s announcement earlier this week that it plans to cut nearly 8,000 jobs as it expands automation and AI adoption across operations. Winters had described the initiative as replacing some lower-value human capital with investment in technology and AI systems.
In his follow-up statement, Winters emphasized that the bank values its employees and said affected workers would be given opportunities to retrain and develop new skills as automation expands.
According to reports, financial regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore have sought clarification from the bank regarding the comments and the planned workforce reductions.
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