Deutsche Bank - one of the world's largest financial institutions - is gearing up to replace a large chunk of its workforce with robots.

CEO John Cryan warned today that a 'big number' of people will lose their jobs at the firm as it automates to embrace its 'revolutionary spirit.'

The Frankfurt, Germany-based company employs 100,000 people globally, but it's unknown how many will be laid off and replaced by machines or when the overhaul will occur.

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Deutsche Bank - one of the world's largest financial institutions - is gearing up to replace a large chunk of its workforce with robots. A 'big number' of the company's 100,000 employees will be replaced by machines

DEUTSCHE BANK ROBOTS Deutsche Bank - one of the world's largest financial institutions - is gearing up to replace a 'big number' of its 100,000 employees with robots. 'The truthful answer is we won’t need as many people,' CEO John Cryan said. He said many workers are doing mechanical things, pointing to how an accountant is 'basically being an abacus.' While many of the workers will be laid off completely, he said there is room for some jobs to be 'upskilled.' He said in some cases, robots will take over whatever tasks can be automated, leaving the human employees to do more interesting work. Advertisement

During the Banking in Transition conference today in Frankfurt, Cryan announced the firm's plan, citing that accountants are acting like 'abacuses.'

'The truthful answer is we won’t need as many people,' he said bluntly, according to the Financial Times.

'In our banks we have people behaving like robots doing mechanical things.'

'Tomorrow we’re going to have robots behaving like people.'

Cryan - who became the company's chief executive in June 2015 - is in the midst of leading the firm through a five-year restructuring plan that has been giving employees the run-around, affecting their structure and bonuses.

He would not reveal how many employees will be replaced with robots but said it would be a 'big number.'

'We have to find new ways of employing people and maybe people need to find new ways of spending their time,' he said.

CEO John Cryan (pictured) said, 'The truthful answer is we won’t need as many people. In our banks we have people behaving like robots doing mechanical things. Tomorrow we’re going to have robots behaving like people'

Cryan pointed to accountants as an example, saying they 'spend a lot of the time basically being an abacus.'

While many of the workers will be laid off completely, he said there is room for some jobs to be 'upskilled.'

He said in some cases, robots will take over whatever tasks can be automated, leaving the human employees to do more interesting work.

'If you take an accountant at the bank, a large part of their job is to produce number,' he said.

'It takes them three to four weeks to produce an account and then they move to the next one.'

'Wouldn’t it be great if machines could produce those numbers in just a few hours?'

'Then accountants could analyze the numbers, form valid opinions what those numbers mean and not just produce them,' Cryan said.

He also said the directly employed staff may not be so affected, for the firm has many outside contractors it can let 'roll off.'

But he echoed that changes are coming.

'We need to admit that what we had is nice but it’s not necessarily for the future,' he said.

'We need more revolutionary spirit.'

Cryan pointed to accountants as an example, saying they 'spend a lot of the time basically being an abacus'

The move by Deutsche is part of a recent trend of banks turning to technology.

Earlier this summer, one of Sweden's biggest banks, tapped a robot to be 'always at work, 24/7, 365 days a year.'

Now those who bank at SEB can bring their financial questions to Aida, an artificially intelligent customer service representative.

'There are some frequent, simple tasks that we need to deal with manually today, and in that effort we're looking into AI to see how we can deploy it, and Aida is one,' Johan Torgeby, the chief executive officer of SEB, told Bloomberg.

While Deutsche bank was clear that employing robots over humans is about efficiency, SEB is framing the development of Aida as a way to better serve customers.

Aida is a chatbot with vast amounts of individual client data, meaning she - Aida was designed to sound like a woman because of research suggesting customers feel more comfortable with female voices - can quickly handle straightforward customer needs.

The move by Deutsche is part of a recent trend of banks turning to technology. Earlier this summer, one of Sweden 's biggest banks, tapped a robot to be 'always at work, 24/7, 365 days a year'

BANK BOTS SEB just rolled out Aida, a customer service virtual assistant meant to handle easy tasks and free up time for real human employees. Last year, the bank debuted Amelia to work with internal IT support. Swedbank has Nina, a female-voiced assistant that allows customers to simply message her with their questions in order to find answers and identify the financial services best suited for their needs. Nordea Bank has introduced a virtual assistant named Nova - also meant to sounds like a woman - to its life and pensions unit. In the future, Nordea plans to task Nova help customers invest, open accounts and cancel lost credit cards. Advertisement

More complex tasks - like coming up with a mortgage or loan plan to best suit a customer's needs - will still require a human banking assistant, but Aida's presence is meant to help with the easy tasks to help free up time of the human employees.

Last year, SEB rolled out a different virtual assistant named Amelia.

Rather than helping customers with traditional banking needs, she's tasked with working with employees and assisting internal IT support.

'Digital employees will change the way in which banks manage their business and provide a platform for new services,' Chetan Dube, CEO of IPsoft, which made Amelia.

In Amelia's first three weeks, over 4,000 conversations were held with 700 employees, and she solved the majority of issues without delay.

Together, IPsoft and SEB bank are are working to train and develop Amelia together.

Specifically, they're looking into how she can directly enhance the customer service experience as well.

Virtual assistants have actually become commonplace in Sweden as branch closures have caused customer satisfaction scores to drop 20 percent.

Last year, SEB rolled out a different virtual assistant named Amelia. Rather than helping customers with traditional banking needs, she's tasked with working with employees and assisting internal IT support

Swedbank has Nina, a female-voiced assistant that allows customers to simply message her with their questions in order to find answers and identify the financial services best suited for their needs.

Nordea Bank has introduced a virtual assistant named Nova - also meant to sounds like a woman - to its life and pensions unit.

In the future, Nordea plans to task Nova help customers invest, open accounts and cancel lost credit cards.

AI might be part of the cure to the Swedish banking customer service issue - a recent study by market researcher GfK said these chatbots could help close the gap between what bank customers hope to receive from their financial institutions and what they actually get.

The industry overall is experiencing a technological shift.

Former Barclays boss Anthony Jenkins called this an 'Uber moment.'

Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, has also warned that robots will be able to take on more work and endanger the banking jobs of 15 million Britians.

And it's not just the low-skilled jobs - he also warned more skilled roles such as administrative clerical jobs are at risk too.