The chief executive of Standard Chartered bank has issued an apology to employees after his controversial statements about artificial intelligence taking over jobs from workers he described as having less value.
Bill Winters expressed regret for the distress his words caused to staff members, though he did not withdraw his original statements made on Friday.
Banking executives have recently become more direct about anticipated workforce reductions as artificial intelligence streamlines routine operations, moving away from earlier messaging that focused solely on enhanced productivity.
Writing on LinkedIn, Winters acknowledged receiving questions about his word choice, stating “which I know has caused upset to some colleagues. For that I am sorry.”
This marks his second attempt to address the backlash, following an initial response that reinforced his position and detailed the bank’s decision to eliminate roughly 15% of back-office support positions.
During Tuesday’s announcement of nearly 8,000 job eliminations tied to AI implementation, Winters explained: “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.”
In his most recent statement, Winters shared a complete transcript of his original comments, claiming they demonstrated his high regard for employees and included context about the bank “giving every opportunity” to affected workers interested in developing new skills.
According to Bloomberg News reports from Thursday, financial regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore have requested additional information from the bank regarding Winters’ statements.
