Japan's SBI Holdings to Cut Hiring via AI
The CEO of Japanese financial group SBI Holdings has announced plans to leverage AI to drive efficiency and significantly reduce the company's reliance on new hires. The move is a clear signal of how major financial institutions are looking to AI for cost-cutting and operational streamlining.
At a recent fintech event, SBI Holdings' CEO Yoshitaka Kitao declared his intention to make a "drastic reduction" in new hires, issuing a "categorical imperative" to his team. The new hiring mantra, as reported by Asahi Shimbun, is to not hire candidates unless they are "exceptionally talented," signaling a significant strategic shift for the financial giant. Kitao positioned generative AI as a "revolution" that will trigger one of the largest social transformations of this century within the next five years. The plan involves a fundamental redesign of the group's core decision-making and business processes to be centered around AI, driving significant operational efficiency. This strategy extends to client-facing operations, with the firm aiming to "completely agentize" its financing and asset management services using AI. SBI is also developing autonomous AI for direct customer use, envisioning a future where artificial intelligence handles a significant portion of financial services. To spearhead this transformation, the company established a dedicated "SBI Generative AI Office" in July 2023. This internal organization is tasked with accelerating the use of generative AI across the group, sharing expertise among subsidiaries, and deploying platforms like Azure OpenAI for all employees. The move comes as Japanese companies increasingly turn to AI to combat a shrinking labor force. Strict labor laws make it difficult to dismiss existing employees, leading companies to focus on reducing new hires as a way to adapt to automation. This trend suggests the initial impact of AI on Japan's job market will be most acutely felt by new graduates. SBI's strategy is not limited to AI alone; Kitao also spoke of combining AI with blockchain to move financial operations "completely on-chain." This reflects a long-term vision held since at least 2018, when the company identified AI and blockchain as the key technologies that would reshape society.
