# Huntington Bancshares: AI workforce and talent Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington/ai-workforce Last updated: Oct 31, 2026 *Part of the [Huntington Bancshares AI strategy profile](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington).* ## 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. ([Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919624000020/hban-20231231.htm), [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919625000020/hban-20241231.htm), [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919626000015/hban-20251231.htm), [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/huntington-bank-expense-growth-cfo-wasserman-earnings/818409/), [The Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/huntington-hban-q3-2026-earnings-172831195.html), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/huntington-banks-plan-to-obtain-a-return-on-generative-ai), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/podcast/its-a-tremendous-priority-huntington-cfo-wasserman-on-ai), [earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool)](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/05/04/huntington-hban-q1-2026-earnings-transcript), [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/04/24/huntington-bancshares-cfo-ai-strategist/), [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/huntington-trim-cadence-staff-after-acquisition-ceo-says-2025-12-08/)) ## 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 | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2023 (average) | 19,955 average full-time equivalent colleagues | Colleagues completed more than 500,000 training hours | 2023 10-K | [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919624000020/hban-20231231.htm) | | 2024 (average) | 19,932 average full-time equivalent colleagues | Colleagues completed nearly 800,000 training hours | 2024 10-K | [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919625000020/hban-20241231.htm) | | 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 | [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919626000015/hban-20251231.htm) | | 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 | [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/huntington-trim-cadence-staff-after-acquisition-ceo-says-2025-12-08/) | | 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 | [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/huntington-bank-expense-growth-cfo-wasserman-earnings/818409/) | | October 22, 2026 | More than 25 thousand colleagues | Steinour thanks colleagues after 'a year of substantial change within the company' | Q3 2026 call | [The Motley Fool (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/huntington-hban-q3-2026-earnings-172831195.html) | ## What have Huntington's leaders said about AI and jobs? | Date | Who | What was said | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 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 | [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000130817924000070/lhban2024_def14a.htm) | | 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' | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/podcast/its-a-tremendous-priority-huntington-cfo-wasserman-on-ai) | | 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 | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/podcast/its-a-tremendous-priority-huntington-cfo-wasserman-on-ai) | | 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' | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/huntington-banks-plan-to-obtain-a-return-on-generative-ai) | | 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' | [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000119312526103196/hban-20260312.htm) | | 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' | [earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool)](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/05/04/huntington-hban-q1-2026-earnings-transcript) | | 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' | [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/04/24/huntington-bancshares-cfo-ai-strategist/) | | 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' | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-huntington-bancshares-tops-q2-2026-estimates-shares-fall-93CH-4809465) | ## 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. ([Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919624000020/hban-20231231.htm), [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919625000020/hban-20241231.htm), [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000004919626000015/hban-20251231.htm)) 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. ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/huntington-trim-cadence-staff-after-acquisition-ceo-says-2025-12-08/)) 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. ([Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/04/24/huntington-bancshares-cfo-ai-strategist/), [Huntington Bancshares (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49196/000119312526103196/hban-20260312.htm)) ## What does the Huntington profile record on this topic? | Date | Move | Detail | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | [Investing.com](https://investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-huntington-bancshares-tops-q2-2026-estimates-shares-fall-93CH-4809465) | | Apr 24, 2026 | Technology spending trimmed to hold expense guidance | Marketing and branches protected; some hiring and tech spend cut. | [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/huntington-bank-expense-growth-cfo-wasserman-earnings/818409/) | | 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. | [MarketBeat (Yahoo Finance)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/huntington-bancshares-q1-earnings-call-173934255.html) | | Oct 20, 2025 | Veritex acquisition closes | Integration involves signage changes, a systems conversion and some layoffs; the CEO calls Texas a springboard. | [Dallas Business Journal](https://bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2025/10/27/huntington-veritex-cadence-integration.html) | | 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. | [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/huntington-banks-plan-to-obtain-a-return-on-generative-ai) | ## Common questions ### 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. ## Deeper on Huntington - [What is Huntington's AI strategy and who runs it?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington/ai-strategy) - [What AI patents and partnerships does Huntington have?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington/ai-research-patents-partnerships) - [How does Huntington govern and control its use of AI?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington/responsible-ai) - [What technology stack does Huntington run?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington/technology-stack) - [What proprietary AI has Huntington built in-house?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington/proprietary-ai) --- Canonical page: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/huntington/ai-workforce Part of [BankingNewsAI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/) — a free daily brief on AI in banking, an AI regulation tracker (45 authorities, 260 documents) and AI-strategy profiles of the 120 largest US banks. Markdown versions of every reference page: append `.md` to the page URL; index at https://www.bankingnewsai.com/llms.txt.