The large Spanish banking sector --comprising Bankinter, Santander, BBVA, Caixabank, Sabadell, and Unicaja-- has reduced its workforce by a total of 8,193 positions and closed 791 branches in the past year, amidst the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to data compiled by Europa Press from the quarterly financial statements of each entity.
By entity, Banco Santander has lowered the group's overall employee volume to 185,243 as of March of the current fiscal year, compared to 196,503 professionals registered in the third month of 2025, representing a reduction of 11,260 employees.
In parallel, the entity led by Ana Botín closed the first quarter of the year with 6,589 branches across all geographies in which it operates, 15% less (1,034 fewer branches) than those recorded in March of the previous year.
This contraction of the physical network occurs as Santander strengthens its commitment to AI as a driver of transformation. Last August, the Cantabrian bank signed an agreement with OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, to enhance its capabilities in this technology and move towards its goal of becoming an "AI-native" bank.
Regarding this agreement, Santander's Head of Data and AI, Ricardo Martín, explained at the time that the alliance's purpose is to leverage generative AI and AI agents to improve internal processes and redefine "what banking can be."
In this regard, last February the group's president detailed the economic scope of this strategy. Botín, who placed artificial intelligence at the core of the entity's new roadmap until 2028, set a target of achieving 1 billion euros in returns over the next three years through the implementation of this technology.
By category, 300 million would come from the creation of new revenue and 700 million from cost reductions. This latter block includes personnel expenses -- which were reduced by 30 million euros year-on-year -- and the amortization of tangible and intangible assets -- which stood at 828 million euros in March 2026.
With this, the entity aims to reach 20 billion euros in annual profit by 2028 and a profitability of 20%.
Behind it is Sabadell, which reduced its workforce by 144 people in the same period, to 13,450 employees in March of this year. However, the Vallesano bank is among those that have adjusted their network the least, maintaining the number of operational offices at 1,150.
Bankinter is the other entity that has reduced staff, albeit very moderately: 26 fewer employees, for a total of 6,648 workers at the close of the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, the orange bank has slightly cut its commercial network to 445 branches, two fewer than a year earlier.
BBVA INCREASES ITS WORKFORCE BY 2,136 EMPLOYEES
The other three large banks show increases in the number of employees compared to the data from January to March of the previous year.
In particular, BBVA registers the largest year-on-year increase in staff. The entity chaired by Carlos Torres has added 2,136 workers, bringing the group's workforce to 126,877 people.
However, the Basque bank launched a voluntary exit plan in the first quarter of the year that affected 750 employees. Of these, 230 correspond to Spain, where BBVA has 29,456 workers.
In this regard, BBVA's CEO, Onur Genç, denied at the results presentation press conference that these departures are linked to the deployment of artificial intelligence.
"They had nothing to do with AI, basically because we are just starting to deploy it now and therefore there hasn't been time for any impact yet," Genç specified at the time.
Despite this, the entity has carried out the second largest cut in offices in one year, closing 168 branches and leaving the group's total at 5,565.
CAIXABANK, THE ONLY BANK THAT INCREASES THE NUMBER OF OFFICES (436 MORE)
For its part, Caixabank has increased its workforce by 1,003 people between March and March, reaching 47,257 employees.
At the same time, and contrary to the majority of the sector, the bank with fiscal headquarters in Valencia has expanded its branch network by almost 10% (436 more offices), consolidating itself as the only entity that increases this variable, reaching 4,547 centers, of which 4,241 are located in Spain.
This reinforcement of the physical network is part of the entity's strategy to consolidate its territorial presence and ensure access to financial services throughout the territory, especially in areas with lower population density.
Lastly, Unicaja has also incorporated new employees compared to March 2025 and, according to the accounts of the first quarter of the current fiscal year, it had 7,379 workers in the third month of the year, 98 more than a year earlier.
Despite this increase in staff, the Andalusian bank aligns with Santander, BBVA, Sabadell, and Bankinter in adjusting its network and closed March 2026 with 925 branches, 20 fewer than in the same month of the previous fiscal year.