American Express to cut about 5% of staff in AI-related restructuring
Amex raised its full-year earnings guidance despite revenue missing analyst expectations. The restructuring carries a US$336 million charge.
American Express is cutting about 5% of its workforce worldwide, with a restructuring charge of US$336 million, CNBC reported, citing chief executive Stephen Squeri’s remarks to analysts. Chief financial officer Christophe Le Caillec said preparing the company for AI was the purpose of the reorganization.
Le Caillec told CNBC that Amex was cutting management layers and expanding managers’ oversight, saying poorly structured processes should not be automated. CNBC put the company’s employee count at almost 77,000 at the end of 2025.
The cuts accompanied quarterly results in which Amex reported a 9% revenue increase to a record US$20.1 billion. Analysts had forecast US$20.12 billion, according to LSEG figures cited by CNBC. Adjusted per-share earnings reached US$4.68, beating the average estimate of US$4.48.
Net income climbed 28% to US$3.7 billion, including a pre-tax gain of US$982 million from the sale of Amex’s Global Business Travel Group stake. Some of that gain covered the restructuring. The company increased its full-year earnings outlook to US$18.30 to US$18.60 per share, while CNBC reported an afternoon share-price decline of roughly 4%.
Squeri also said Amex would serve customers using AI agents while limiting those agents’ access to approved API or MCP channels. He cited protection of customers and merchants as the reason for the restrictions. Both technologies connect outside software with company systems.
Amex’s Intent Intelligence framework, published on 13 October, describes checks to establish a customer’s intended purchase before an AI agent completes it.
