How is AI changing Huntington's workforce?
Huntington's headcount has been driven by acquisitions, not AI, but its AI leader says agents will do work people used to be hired for. The 10-Ks report 19,955 average full-time equivalent colleagues in 2023, 19,932 in 2024 and 20,424 in 2025; after the Veritex and Cadence deals the bank had about 24,600 employees in the first quarter of 2026, and CEO Stephen Steinour thanked 'more than 25 thousand colleagues' on the October 2026 call. CFO Zach Wasserman, who leads the AI effort, said in September 2025 that 'These agents will effectively be taking on jobs for the company that we used to hire people to do', and in March 2025 that AI means 'potentially less people working on any given unit of work'. Colleague productivity and training is one of five areas of the enterprise AI program he described in April 2026, with a 'significantly' larger tool set for colleagues; Fortune reported that month that colleague upskilling is a major focus as agents in production grew from two in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 50. Huntington reports total training hours (over 500,000 in 2025) but no AI training figures, and it has set no AI-related headcount target; the layoffs it has announced are tied to merger integration.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Data as of Oct 31, 2026 · Huntington profile updated Oct 16, 2026 · 15 sources cited on this page · 141 banks profiled on this site · Markdown
How has Huntington's headcount changed as it adopted AI?
Annual figures are average full-time equivalent colleagues from the 10-K; the jump from 2025 to 2026 reflects the Veritex and Cadence acquisitions.
| As of | Headcount | What was said | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 (average) | 19,955 average full-time equivalent colleagues | Colleagues completed more than 500,000 training hours | 2023 10-K[1] |
| 2024 (average) | 19,932 average full-time equivalent colleagues | Colleagues completed nearly 800,000 training hours | 2024 10-K[2] |
| 2025 (average) | 20,424 average full-time equivalent colleagues | Over 500,000 training hours; the AI risk factor adds the risk that AI is not 'successfully adopted and deployed by our colleague base' | 2025 10-K[3] |
| December 8, 2025 | More than 20,000 staff before the Cadence deal; Cadence employs about 5,800 | Steinour: 'There'll be more layoffs' at Cadence; over 60 jobs cut at Veritex; more jobs to be added in Texas over time | Reuters[10] |
| First quarter 2026 | About 24,600 employees | The 2026 budget held about $150 million for hiring; some hiring was trimmed, but the bank still aims to hire 'hundreds' | Banking Dive, April 24, 2026[4] |
| October 22, 2026 | More than 25 thousand colleagues | Steinour thanks colleagues after 'a year of substantial change within the company' | Q3 2026 call[5] |
What have Huntington's leaders said about AI and jobs?
| Date | Who | What was said |
|---|---|---|
| March 7, 2024 | 2024 proxy | Strategy pairs 'leveraging AI' with 'Invest proactively in talent development and training programs'; shareholders asked about employee turnover and how the bank manages risks associated with AI[11] |
| March 4, 2025 | Zach Wasserman, CFO | Asked about job worries: technology can mean 'potentially less people working on any given unit of work', so 'what's critical is that we train ourselves to focus on where work is adding value'; 'roles are changing'[7] |
| March 4, 2025 | Zach Wasserman | Staff efficiency is the biggest near-term opportunity; industry studies say full use of gen AI could save 'somewhere between 20 and 30% of the average staff members' time', but extracting that value is very difficult[7] |
| September 11, 2025 | Zach Wasserman | Agentic AI runs in software development, employee productivity, customer service and marketing; 'These agents will effectively be taking on jobs for the company that we used to hire people to do'[6] |
| March 12, 2026 | 2026 proxy | 'Huntington continues to scope use cases for colleagues to use AI internally with oversight from the Board, Risk Oversight Committee, and the Technology Committees'[12] |
| April 23, 2026 | Zach Wasserman, Q1 2026 call | Colleague productivity and training is one of five AI program areas: 'expanding significantly the tool set for our colleagues and increasing their readiness to deploy AI in their day-to-day work'[8] |
| April 24, 2026 | Fortune profile of Wasserman | 'Colleague upskilling is a major focus'; 50 agents in production and more than 60 in development, with about 15 new ones a month; Wasserman: 'We're starting to use it like a thought partner for us'[9] |
| July 23, 2026 | Brant Standridge, Q2 2026 call | The Cadence conversion, completed 235 days after announcement, used 'AI-enabled tools to automate a number of the manual processes'[13] |
What has Huntington not disclosed about AI and its workforce?
Huntington publishes total training hours, not AI training: more than 500,000 hours in 2023, nearly 800,000 in 2024 and over 500,000 in 2025, per its 10-Ks. It has not disclosed how many colleagues have AI tools, completion rates for AI training, or an AI academy or certification program.[1][2][3]
The job cuts on the record are tied to acquisitions: Reuters reported in December 2025 that Huntington cut more than 60 jobs at Veritex and expected 'more layoffs' at Cadence, while planning to add jobs in Texas over time. Neither the bank nor its filings attributes job reductions to AI, and it has not given an AI-related headcount or savings target by role.[10]
Ownership of the topic is with the CFO: Wasserman told Fortune in April 2026, 'I'm actually leading the AI effort for the company'. At board level the 2026 proxy gives the Technology Committee oversight of 'the strategy and implementation of AI'; no board committee is named for AI's workforce effects.[9][12]
What does the Huntington profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the Huntington AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 16, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 39 dated moves, 17 use cases and 50 sources.
| Use case | What the record shows | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise-wide AI program | Five areas: software delivery, agentic process transformation, customer-facing use cases, colleague productivity and training, and data platforms. | In production | [14] |
| Generative-AI software development | The furthest-advanced generative-AI use in 2025 ('a very significant amount of productivity lift'); the Q1 2026 call puts improving the software delivery life cycle first among five AI areas. | In production | [6][8] |
| Servicing and exceptions-handling agents | Agents summarise a customer's earlier interactions, trigger escalation protocols and check proposed fixes against policy; agentic AI is also used in employee productivity and marketing. | In production | [6] |
| AI-enabled tools for the Cadence conversion | Tools automated manual conversion processes; 4,500 colleagues moved onto Huntington systems and the conversion finished 235 days after announcement. | In production | [13] |
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 2026 | Q2 call: Cadence converted in 235 days with AI-enabled tools | Standridge says the conversion used 'AI-enabled tools to automate a number of the manual processes' and moved 4,500 colleagues, and that pricing analytics let the bank optimise rates at local-market level. | [13] |
| Apr 24, 2026 | Technology spending trimmed to hold expense guidance | Marketing and branches protected; some hiring and tech spend cut. | [4] |
| Apr 23, 2026 | Q1 2026 call: an enterprise-wide AI program in five areas | Technology, process transformation, customer-facing use cases, colleague productivity and training, and data and platforms. | [14] |
| Oct 20, 2025 | Veritex acquisition closes | Integration involves signage changes, a systems conversion and some layoffs; the CEO calls Texas a springboard. | [15] |
| Sep 11, 2025 | 28 generative-AI use cases live, target 100 | The CFO says software development is the furthest-advanced use, that technology investment has grown at a 25% compound rate against 5% for total expenses over five years, and that agentic AI is used in software development, employee productivity, customer service and marketing. | [6] |
How many employees does Huntington have?
More than 25,000 after the Cadence merger: CEO Stephen Steinour thanked 'more than 25 thousand colleagues' on the October 2026 earnings call, and Banking Dive put the total at about 24,600 in the first quarter of 2026. Before the Texas acquisitions the 10-Ks show about 20,000 average full-time equivalent colleagues (20,424 in 2025).
Is Huntington replacing jobs with AI?
Its AI leader expects agents to do work it used to hire for: CFO Zach Wasserman said in September 2025 that 'These agents will effectively be taking on jobs for the company that we used to hire people to do'. The bank has not announced AI-driven job cuts; its stated layoffs are tied to the Veritex and Cadence integrations, and it still planned to hire hundreds of people in 2026.
How does Huntington train colleagues on AI?
Colleague productivity and training is one of the five areas of its enterprise AI program, which Wasserman said in April 2026 is 'expanding significantly the tool set for our colleagues'. Fortune reported colleague upskilling as a major focus. Huntington has not published AI-specific training hours, completion rates or program names; its 10-Ks report only total training hours.
Who leads AI at Huntington?
CFO Zach Wasserman, who told Fortune in April 2026 that he is leading the AI effort for the company. Vijay Konduru heads a business innovation and AI products organization formed in September 2026, and the board's Technology Committee oversees AI strategy and implementation, per the 2026 proxy.
Is Huntington hiring for AI?
Yes. BankingNewsAI's weekly read of Huntington's careers site on October 27, 2026 listed AI cybersecurity and AI threat-emulation developers, a senior manager for AI engineering platforms, an MLOps automation lead, an AI risk governance manager in Charlotte and several data scientists, mostly in Columbus. Postings change weekly and are not cited as sources; see /banks/ai-hiring.
- Huntington Bancshares Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2023
- Huntington Bancshares Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2024
- Huntington Bancshares Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2025
- Huntington whittles expense growth
- Huntington (HBAN) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Huntington Bank's plan to obtain a return on gen AI
- 'It's a tremendous priority': Huntington CFO Wasserman on AI
- Huntington (HBAN) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- At Huntington Bancshares, the CFO is also the AI strategist
- Huntington to trim Cadence staff after acquisition, CEO says
- Huntington Bancshares 2024 Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A)
- Huntington Bancshares 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A)
- Earnings call transcript: Huntington Bancshares tops Q2 2026 estimates, shares fall
- Huntington Bancshares Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
- On heels of two big deals, Huntington Bank sees Texas as 'springboard'
When Huntington moves on AI, you'll read it here first.
when one of the banks we cover moves on AI, it is in the next morning's brief · six sourced stories · 7 am PT · free
plus every regulation, bank and agent page update, the morning after · leave any morning