American Express to cut about 3,500 jobs, 4.5% of workforce

American Express will cut about 3,500 of its roughly 78,000 workers worldwide, a company spokesperson said on Oct. 23, alongside the card company's third-quarter earnings announcement.1

CEO Stephen Squeri told analysts on the earnings call the company "needed to become a more agile and efficient organization" to accelerate innovation, and said the cuts focus on streamlining operations, bolstering productivity and speeding up decision-making.1 Squeri said he asked managers this year to identify options for improving operations, according to Banking Dive; the spokesperson declined to provide additional details, and executives on the call gave few additional details about the job cuts.1

Amex took a $336 million charge in the quarter tied to the restructuring, the company disclosed, according to Banking Dive.1

Squeri said he focused mainly on how customers will use AI to consume Amex services, such as personalizing restaurant offerings through Resy and using ChatGPT to personalize pitches for restaurant and travel services, rather than on internal AI use.1

Squeri told analysts that competitors had unlocked "sort of the automation and the expense management" in the commercial segment, and that Amex will introduce more agents into its platform, according to Banking Dive; Banking Dive also reported that Capital One acquired Brex this year.1

Third-quarter net income rose 28% to $3.71 billion and revenue rose 9% to $20 billion, while expenses rose 9% to $14.5 billion, including an 11% increase in marketing spending, the company disclosed.1