The impact of AI is gradually penetrating, with the number of employees at major listed banks fluctuating last year, and technology finance driving the demand for science and engineering talents.

Ask AI · Why do some bank employees increase while others decrease under the impact of AI?

Cailian Press, April 2 (Reporter Peng Kefeng) Recently, Zhejiang Commercial Bank held an earnings release conference. The remarks by Chairman Chen Haiqiang that “in the future, the bank will implement a recruitment plan for more than 5,000 college graduates” have drawn widespread attention from society.

So, as the main force that recruits college graduates every year, how did the number of employees at major listed banks change last year? Which banks increased headcount? What backgrounds of talent are banks most eager to recruit right now? Recently, based on annual reports from multiple listed banks, Cailian Press reporters compiled statistics and also conducted on-the-ground interviews.

As AI impact gradually seeps in, four of the six major banks grow while two shrink, helping state-owned banks achieve a “three-consecutive-increase” in employee numbers

State-owned large banks are the main force in new recruitment of fresh graduates. What was their situation last year? According to information in annual reports, by the end of 2025, the combined employee count of the six major banks was 1.8544 million, an increase of 1,538 compared with the end of the previous year. Moreover, compared with the data of 1.845 million at the end of 2023, this means that the number of employees at state-owned large banks has achieved positive growth for three consecutive years.

Specifically, ICBC’s annual report disclosed that by the end of 2025, ICBC had a total of 409,758 employees, including 6,559 employees at its domestic holding subsidiaries.

ABC’s annual report disclosed that as of the end of 2025, the bank’s total number of employees in service was 457,835, including 839 employees at overseas sub-branches and representative offices.

Bank of China’s annual report disclosed that at the end of the reporting period, the total number of employees was 313,746, including 274,487 employees at domestic commercial banking institutions.

China Construction Bank’s annual report disclosed that as of last year’s end, it had accumulated 378,344 employees, up 0.40% from the previous year.

Bank of Communications’ annual report disclosed that at the end of the reporting period, the group had a total of 97,932 employees, of which 91,669 were employees engaged in domestic banking institutions.

Postal Savings Bank’s annual report disclosed that at the end of the reporting period, the bank had 196,779 personnel in total, including 182,347 contract employees and 14,432 workers dispatched via labor outsourcing. Based on this calculation, the total number of employees at the six major banks last year was 1,854,394.

According to the prior year’s annual report statistics for the six major banks, by the end of 2024, the employee totals of the six major banks, including ICBC, ABC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank, were 415,159, 454,716, 312,757, 376,847, 95,746, and 197,631 respectively, for a combined total of 1,852,856 employees.

Looking at the changes, in the just-passed 2025, the four major banks—ABC, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Communications—saw increases in their employee numbers, while ICBC and Postal Savings Bank clearly reduced staffing.

“Currently, AI and large models are very evidently replacing labor for grassroots bank employees, and can greatly improve efficiency. Against the backdrop that bank operating revenue and profits have not been able to grow at a large scale, state-owned banks also have to implement more fine-grained management, cutting back on staff size and costs.” A person from a state-owned large bank told reporters that the impact of AI on the banking industry is still continuing.

“Currently, the demand for grassroots positions at banks is indeed not as strong as before. Moreover, because banks need to shoulder many indicators such as loans, wealth management, and insurance, the turnover of newly recruited employees each year has consistently been relatively high.” A person from a listed bank told reporters that some banks’ staff reductions also have objective reasons.

CMB and CITIC increased headcount significantly, while Zhejiang Commercial Bank reduced staff last year; tech-finance loan growth surges, making engineering talent a new favorite

In addition, the reporter also found that among listed joint-stock banks, CMB and CITIC increased their headcount significantly last year, while Zhejiang Commercial Bank’s number of employees declined.

Of these, as of the end of last year, CMB had 121,585 employees, an increase of 4,384 from 117,201 at the end of 2024;

CITIC Bank Group had 67,674 employees, an increase of 2,208 from 65,466 at the end of 2024, and a year-on-year growth of about 3.37%;

Zhejiang Commercial Bank Group’s headcount was 25,016 (including dispatched employees, outsourced personnel, and employees of affiliated institutions), down 210 from the end of the previous year.

So, among the employees newly recruited by banks today, which fields of talent are most in demand? In response, multiple people from state-owned banks and joint-stock banks told reporters that currently, financial technology positions are still the most frequently recruited. Considering the ongoing iteration of AI technology, banks also need to continuously increase their efforts to attract financial technology talent to meet the demands of talent reserves and industry competition.

This trend can also be seen in the annual reports of some banks. In its annual report, Bank of China disclosed that in 2025, the bank had 19,987 employees in technology and digital operations administration, accounting for 6.37%. In its annual report, Bank of Communications disclosed that in 2025, the group had 9,782 financial technology personnel, up 8.20% from the end of the previous year.

In addition, multiple people from city commercial banks and joint-stock banks told reporters that, as loans in the technology-finance field continue to rise, and as banks’ “equity-loan investment linkage” business continues to expand, banks are increasing their recruitment of engineering and science talent over the past two years.

A head-office spokesperson from a listed city commercial bank in North China told Cailian Press that since last year, because it has needed to continuously increase its loan quotas to technology enterprises, and to better evaluate technology enterprises—especially newly established enterprises—in terms of their technological attributes and industry position, the bank has continued to increase recruitment of talent in engineering and science fields such as intelligent manufacturing, commercial aerospace, and biomedicine.

(Cailian Press reporter Peng Kefeng)