Vietnamese banks cut nearly 3,000 jobs amid AI adoption

LPBank reported the most significant reduction, with 1,986 employees leaving in the first half, equivalent to nearly 18 percent of its workforce.

This comes in stark contrast to 2024, when the bank increased its staff by 562 employees.

In the retail banking sector, both VIB and Sacombank also reported reductions of over 1,000 employees each.

VIB laid off 1,186 employees in January-June, more than double the nearly-500-jobs cut in all of 2024, while Sacombank shed 1,158 workers, up from 354 for the whole of last year.

ACB made 607 employees redundant, bringing its total workforce down to 12,240.

ABBank reduced its staff by 469, and Agribank trimmed 273 positions.

Vietcombank, previously one of the most active recruiters in 2024 by adding 796 employees, fired 191 in the first half of 2025, with its workforce now totaling 23,347 employees.

VietinBank, despite closing many branches in the six-month period, slightly increased its personnel by 15 people, reaching 22,507 as of June 30.

Among over 10 banks that added employees in this time span, VietinBank recorded the smallest rise.

Result of digital transformation

Banking strategy expert Le Hoai An told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the recent wave of staff reductions is largely a result of digital transformation efforts.

Retail banks have been particularly affected, as many are shifting their focus toward corporate lending and away from personal loans.

According to An, personal loan processes such as home, car, or renovation loans have become highly automated.

For example, a loan officer who previously handled five auto loan applications per month can now process significantly more due to reduced paperwork and digital workflows.

The application of electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) procedures has also lowered staffing needs at bank branches.

In contrast, corporate lending remains difficult to automate out of the unique nature of each business, explaining why retail banks have seen more lay-offs 

A representative of a commercial bank shared with Tuoi Tre that interest rate cuts and cost reductions remain top priorities.

Major banks in Europe and the U.S. have already reported significant job losses given the impact of AI.

While AI’s effects on human resources in Vietnam are still in the early stages, they are expected to grow.

An predicted that Vietnam’s banking industry will experience more dramatic shifts in the next three years as AI adoption accelerates.

Data from financial reports show that over the past five years, net workforce growth at Vietnamese banks has averaged just one to two percent annually, while income has grown 10–15 percent.

Tran Thi Nguyet Oanh, head of human resources at HSBC Vietnam, cited the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs 2025 report as saying that bank tellers and secretarial roles are among the most vulnerable to job losses, second only to clerical positions.

She highlighted that digital account opening processes now eliminate the need for in-branch paperwork.

AI is increasingly used for data analysis and fraud detection, replacing repetitive tasks like data entry and report generation.

“Virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Microsoft Copilot are also reshaping assistant roles. OpenAI’s recent updates to ChatGPT allow it to perform complex assistant tasks,” Oanh said.

Still, she emphasized that while technology may replace certain jobs, it also creates new opportunities.

According to the Future of Jobs 2025 report, the financial sector is expected to be among the top industries adopting AI, leading to growing demand for big data analysts, AI and machine learning specialists, and cybersecurity experts.

Dinh Duc Quang, head of treasury at UOB Vietnam, agreed that many traditional banking roles are being automated.

However, jobs that require communication, persuasion, and relationship-building with clients will still need human involvement.

These are areas where the next generation of bank employees can thrive as the bridge between technology and clients in an ever-changing financial landscape.

Banking strategy expert An added that while new technologies create jobs, AI boosts productivity by up to five times. 

As the overall volume of work in the economy is unlikely to increase fivefold, job loss is expected to outpace job creation.

He estimated that by 2027, around 10 percent of the workforce across all banks could be laid off.