Gref announced the reduction of 70% of mid-level employees due to artificial intelligence

The introduction of artificial intelligence in Sberbank has led to a reduction of 70% of middle-level employees, said the head of the bank German Gref.

Who specifically got cut? We are talking about employees who, as Gref explained, perform simple tasks. Most of the laid-off workers have been retrained and are now doing other jobs.

• According to Sberbank's IFRS financial statements, the number of employees of the Sberbank group over the nine months of 2018 decreased by more than 14 thousand people, or by 4.6%, to 296 thousand.

What's next? In January 2017, at a forum in Davos, Gref spoke about plans to halve the number of Sberbank employees by 2025. Similar changes are taking place at other banks: for example, Commerzbank decided to replace analysts with machines. And not just in banks — a Chinese government agency this week unveiled the first robot hosts.

Vladimir Motorin