Close Brothers is eliminating 600 positions, a full fifth of its workforce, as it grapples with the fallout from the UK motor finance mis-selling scandal. The bank faces potentially massive liabilities from historical car loan practices, and the 85 million GBP cost-cutting plan is designed to shore up its balance sheet.
What makes this cut different from the AI-driven layoffs dominating 2026 headlines is the root cause: regulatory liability. Close Brothers is not optimizing for efficiency or pivoting to automation. It is paying for past practices. The bank has also signaled a shift toward AI and offshoring for remaining operations, suggesting the restructuring will permanently reshape how it operates.
The banking sector has been hit hard across the board in 2026, with HSBC planning 20,000 cuts, Goldman Sachs initiating rolling layoffs, and Citigroup continuing its multi-year 10% reduction. Close Brothers is smaller but the proportional impact is among the steepest.