European banks plan to cut 200,000 jobs as AI takes hold

Europe's banking sector is about to get a tough lesson about efficiency. According to a new Morgan Stanley analysis reported by the Financial Times, more than 200,000 European banking jobs could vanish by 2030 as lenders lean into AI and shutter physical branches. That's roughly 10% of the workforce at 35 major banks.

The bloodletting will hit hardest in back-office operations, risk management, and compliance, the unglamorous guts of banking where algorithms are believed capable of tearing through spreadsheets faster and more effectively than humans. Banks are salivating over projected efficiency gains of 30%, according to the Morgan Stanley report.