On Tuesday (February 25), DBS Bank announced that it has identified 13,000 employees who need to upskill or undergo retraining to prepare them for the future.

The bank stated that so far, more than 10,000 employees have begun their respective learning roadmaps, which include skills related to artificial intelligence (AI) and data.

This follows a Bloomberg report on Monday that the bank plans to cut approximately 4,000 contract and temporary workers over the next three years as AI increasingly takes on roles traditionally performed by humans.

It was reported that DBS Bank has around 8,000 to 9,000 such employees.

A bank spokesperson told *The Business Times*: "Over the next three years, we anticipate that AI could reduce our need to hire about 4,000 temporary/contract workers for specific projects across our 19 markets."

"We will continue to invest in upskilling and retraining our employees to prepare them for the future."

DBS Bank clarified that permanent employees across all markets will not be affected by the layoffs.

The bank’s 2023 annual report showed a total workforce of approximately 40,000, including permanent, contract, and temporary employees.

Meanwhile, in response to separate inquiries about layoffs and cost management, OCBC stated that it will continue to seek talent that "adds value to the team and fits the bank."

Lee Hwee Boon, the bank’s Group Head of Human Resources, said: "Recruitment activities across different departments in our bank align with the growth areas we’ve identified and are conducted as needed."

As for UOB, CEO Wee Ee Cheong stated that the bank intends to leverage AI to enhance productivity and streamline processes. The bank is focusing on upskilling employees to redirect them to high-growth areas.

The CEO said during the bank’s Q4 earnings briefing on February 19: "To me, productivity is about simplifying processes. Cutting costs sounds negative, but ultimately, we still need to improve processes."

Last August, Lee Wai Fai, UOB Group’s Chief Financial Officer, also mentioned that the bank would shift some back- and middle-office functions to Malaysia, primarily in the capital Kuala Lumpur, to manage costs.

He noted that offshoring is always an option due to high costs in Singapore, though the lender still highly values workforce quality.

He pointed out that UOB began outsourcing some of its operations years ago and would accelerate this initiative, including centralizing its credit card center.

It will also focus on other areas, such as compliance, where models can be created in Singapore and run in Kuala Lumpur to improve operational efficiency.