Danske Bank has cut 800 jobs this year, with AI partly to blame

Danske Bank has cut 800 positions so far this year, and artificial intelligence is part of the reason. The figures come from a Danish business news report published on 29 October.

The bank's chief executive, Carsten Egeriis, sees large opportunities in using AI. He also acknowledges that the technology raises concerns, including about future job prospects. The 800 eliminated positions are the bank's own example of that effect.

Egeriis does not think a collapse in the AI industry would trigger a systemic crisis on the scale of the financial crisis, and he says people should not fear one.

The report places this against a wider backdrop of alarm. AI is developing so quickly that leading AI executives have in recent months described it as a threat to humanity. Some of the world's most senior financiers are also reported to fear that the technology could cause a catastrophe so serious that heads of state would have to take control.

The available text does not say which roles were cut, how much of the reduction is due to AI compared with other factors, or over what timeframe the bank expects further changes. What it does show is a major Nordic bank openly linking job reductions to AI while its leader argues the technology's risks to financial stability are manageable.