Bank of America’s AI cuts 30% of coding workload, reshapes audit roles, saves ~2,000 jobs

Bank of America trims coding workload, reshapes audit roles with AI

Bank of America says its rollout of artificial intelligence techniques reduces coding tasks by about 30%, allowing the bank to save roughly 2,000 positions, with the largest impacts concentrated in its audit team. The bank reports that automated coding and process automation free staff from routine work and enable faster delivery of control and compliance activities across its finance and operations functions. Bank executives frame the cutbacks as efficiency gains rather than broad headcount reductions, saying technology enables redeployment of talent to higher-value roles.

The bank emphasizes that significant task elimination in coding and audit work changes how it allocates human resources and shapes its internal controls. Bank of America highlights its scale — nearly 70 million clients, about 3,600 retail centers and roughly 59 million verified digital users — as a factor that makes automation attractive for standardising processes and improving throughput. At the same time, the move raises questions for regulators and auditors about oversight of automated systems and how the bank safeguards model integrity while preserving accountability for compliance functions.

Bank of America frames its AI adoption as part of an investment in operational resilience and client-facing innovation rather than purely cost-cutting. The bank points to industry-leading digital capabilities that support payments, lending and wealth management, and says it balances returning capital with maintaining capacity to support lending and investment needs as it integrates new technologies.

Dividend decision underscores capital priorities

Separately, Bank of America’s board declares a regular quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.28 per share, payable March 27, 2026 to shareholders of record on March 6, 2026, and a $1.75 quarterly dividend on its 7% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, Series B, payable April 24, 2026 to holders of record on April 10, 2026. The bank says the actions reflect ongoing capital allocation priorities that seek to return capital to shareholders while preserving financial strength.

Peers illustrate broader industry shift to AI

Other corporates report similar productivity advances: C.H. Robinson says AI lifts shipments per person and slashes freight-quote processing from up to 20 minutes to under 32 seconds, while Costco reports early AI use in pharmacy inventory yields stock levels above 98%. These examples underscore a broader trend in financial and commercial services toward automating routine work to scale operations and re‑focus labor on higher-value tasks.