Mizuho said that the reduction of 5,000 positions includes natural turnover, controlled recruitment and other methods to reduce the number of people.
Different from the rapid layoffs of their American counterparts, Japanese financial giants stated that they will not directly lay off those employees whose jobs have been replaced by AI, but will instead deploy them to bank branches to engage in personal customer sales or other positions. The bank will provide skills retraining support.
The financial group plans to invest 50 billion to 100 billion yen in artificial intelligence within three years to fiscal 2028. Mizuho Bank and other institutions will formally introduce artificial intelligence for transactional work such as account opening, review of documents required for remittance procedures, and registration of customer information in the system. With the full introduction of AI, the agency will also promote staff relocation and organizational structure adjustments.
Mizuho’s latest statement is also a microcosm of how Japanese large companies are responding to AI changes.
In a public survey last year, many well-known companies believed that AI could replace a considerable number of employees within five years. Among them, Japan's largest telecommunications company NTT predicts that AI will be able to complete "more than 50% of the company's business" in five years. NTT has a total of more than 340,000 employees worldwide.
The company said that there are currently 2,500 employees responsible for sorting out fault repair reports and making simple inquiries, and plans to reduce this by half by fiscal year 2027. Among them, 800 people currently responsible for simple inquiries will be cleared.
Large companies such as Nippon Life Insurance and Shionogi Pharmaceutical also believe that 30% of current employees/jobs will be replaced by AI.
Takahiro Kawamoto, director of human resources at Shionogi Pharmaceutical, told the media that in addition to responding to emails and other matters, AI can also help collect necessary literature information in the development of innovative drugs, as well as prepare clinical trial plans and application materials. Based on these estimates, approximately 30% of the company's personnel can be replaced within five years. If all employees have the same awareness to improve their own efficiency, the replacement rate may reach 50%.
(Shi Zhengcheng of Financial Associated Press)
