Banks Aren’t Laying People Off. They’re Just Not Rehiring Them

AI is changing how large U.S. banks manage staffing, but not primarily through layoffs. At Bank of America, the change is visible in how the bank decides whether to refill roles after employees leave.

Bank of America ended 2025 with roughly 213,000 employees, a figure that had remained largely unchanged for two years, and executives have said that number is expected to decline in 2026. During the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings call, chief executive Brian Moynihan said the focus is on managing expenses through operational efficiency and the use of new technology, including artificial intelligence.

The Replacement Decision has Changed

The bank has not announced large-scale layoffs. Instead, executives have described a process in which departures trigger a review of whether a role still needs to exist. During the same earnings call, chief financial officer Alastair Borthwick said, “Every time someone leaves, we take the opportunity to evaluate whether the role needs to be replaced.”

That approach allows headcount to fall without formal job cuts. In 2025, Bank of America hired about 17,000 employees, primarily to replace workers who left, and added about 2,000 college graduates, even as executives said total staffing levels are expected to decline as roles are reassessed rather than automatically refilled.