Starling Bank Cuts 130 Jobs Amid AI Adoption and Restructuring

Starling Bank plans to cut about 130 jobs as it automates roles and restructures its banking and technology operations to eliminate duplicate roles, the Financial Times reported Friday (July 3).

The company said in the report that it completed some major projects and began using artificial intelligence across more of its operations.

The Guardian also reported on the planned job cuts, saying that they will amount to about 3% of Starling Bank’s workforce of more than 4,000 people.

Starling Bank said in the report: “While we are continuing to hire tech and AI engineers, we recently told colleagues that we are changing parts of our banking team structure to simplify how we operate, reduce instances of duplication, and drive further product delivery at pace.”

Starling Bank released an annual report in May that showed its revenue and profits fell last year as interest income dropped.

The company’s revenues were down 6% to 887 million pounds (about $1.2 billion) and its pre-tax profits declined 3% to 217 million pounds (about $291 million).

It was reported at the time that Starling Bank attributed the declines to interest rate cuts that are impacting most banks. In addition, the company’s growth has been hindered by restrictions placed on it by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority in 2021 due to failings in its financial crime controls, per the report.

Starling Bank said in June 2024 that it did not plan to reapply for a European Union banking license and would instead try to expand internationally via its banking-as-a-service (BaaS) software business, Engine.

The company has traditionally offered banking services to its customers, mostly in the U.K., and tried to expand by seeking a banking license in Ireland, which would have granted it access to the EU. Starling Bank withdrew that application in 2022.

Starling Group announced June 23 that it appointed board member Colin Bell as the new chair of the boards of Starling Group Holdings and Starling Bank. Bell succeeded David Sproul, who announced in March that he would step down.

Bell said at the time in a press release: “It’s an honor to be joining Starling as chair at a time when the business is so well positioned for its next phase of growth.”