American Express cuts 5% of its workforce as it prepares for AI automation

American Express is cutting about 5% of its global workforce in a restructuring that executives say will prepare it for AI. CEO Stephen Squeri disclosed the reduction on October 23, 2026, during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. The plan combines job cuts with changes to how the company organizes and supervises work.

The company expects a $336 million restructuring charge related to the cuts. American Express had almost 77,000 employees at the end of 2025, putting the reduction on the scale of thousands of jobs. That headcount is a year-end baseline, not a current staffing total.

Squeri framed the decision as a way to accelerate innovation and compete over the next few years, despite what he called good business momentum. He said the charge was intended to improve efficiency, describing a need for a more agile organization rather than presenting AI as the sole reason for the cuts.

Fewer layers, wider managerial responsibility

In his CNBC interview, Le Caillec said the aim was to make American Express “leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI.” He identified two organizational changes: reducing layers and increasing “spans of control,” meaning more people reporting to each manager. Those changes address the management structure around the work, not just the tools used to do it.

Le Caillec linked that simpler structure to the ability to automate processes and take advantage of AI in “the coming quarters and the coming years.” That is management’s expected path, not a measurement of work AI has already replaced or savings it has already delivered.

The restructuring also has a funding connection to an asset sale. Le Caillec said part of the proceeds from American Express’s sale of its stake in Global Business Travel Group went into the restructuring plan.