Episode Details

Wells Fargo Layoffs 2026: AI Will “Bring Headcount Down More”

Wells Fargo has confirmed that more cuts are already scheduled and that artificial intelligence is expected to reduce the bank’s headcount further.

Speaking at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference on September 15, Wells Fargo CFO Mike Santomassimo was asked about the company’s shrinking workforce and the opportunity to use AI. His response was direct: “It’ll bring headcount down more.”

This was not an analyst speculating about automation. Wells Fargo’s chief financial officer told investors that the bank sees room to use AI, increase efficiency and operate with fewer people.

Wells Fargo ended June with 197,466 employees. The bank recorded a net reduction of 3,533 positions in the second quarter, 7,732 in the first half of 2026 and more than 15,000 over the previous year. Its workforce has declined for 24 consecutive quarters, a trend CEO Charlie Scharf has presented to investors as an efficiency win.

The cuts are still reaching individual workplaces. A WARN notice filed September 15 covers 35 employees in West Des Moines whose job losses are scheduled for November 14. A separate Wells Fargo reduction affecting 20 employees took effect September 19.

The notice is small, but its timing matters. On the same day another layoff notice was filed, the CFO told investors that AI would push headcount lower.

Santomassimo pointed to autonomous coding and AI use across operations and call centers. The same logic can extend into servicing, processing, administrative support and other repetitive, rules-based information work.

A company no longer needs to be shrinking for workers to disappear. Wells Fargo expects stronger loan growth, yet management believes it can process additional business with much less human effort. Loans, revenue and customer activity can increase while the workforce declines.

At Wells Fargo, growth no longer guarantees job growth.

Reductions may come through announced layoffs. They can also arrive through attrition, jobs that are never backfilled, smaller teams, consolidated functions and higher output targets. This quieter workforce compression can remove thousands of jobs without one enormous announcement.

Workers in operations, call centers, software development, servicing, processing and administrative support should watch for vacancies left open, responsibilities shifted into AI systems, teams combined after departures and targets increasing without new hires.

The Grind Hotline connects executive remarks, workforce disclosures and WARN notices to expose the larger operating model: more business, more AI productivity and fewer people required to perform the work.

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ABOUT THE SHOW

The Grind Hotline is a worker-first global media and workplace intelligence platform covering layoffs, AI displacement, return-to-office mandates, outsourcing, hiring freezes and restructuring for workers worldwide.

The Host is a former banker and sales leader who lost his job twice in five years. The show has earned a MUSE Creative Awards Silver honor, a dotCOMM Award and Corporate Vision’s 2026 award for Best Worker-First Media & Workforce Intelligence Platform.

Our bank layoff coverage follows Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, UBS, Deutsche Bank, TD Bank, RBC, CIBC, BMO, Scotiabank, Santander and Standard Chartered.

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